The Perfect Partner Program
by MarieCarro
Summary: Bella Swan never signed up to participate in The PPP, a school founded to make one into the perfect partner, but is, through circumstances, forced to attend anyway. Through the program she meets Edward Masen, a guy a lot less cryptic than Bella first thought. Follow along with Bella and experience when the mask is ripped off, revealing the real man behind those charming words.
1. Chapter 1 Single Again

**A/N: **Readers: It's about time you started posting this, Marie! You've been teasing us long enough!

Me: Yeah, I know! I'm sorry it's taken so long, but there's been a lot on my mind with Love is Strange, A Lost Soul, and now this new story, The Runaways. I think I have a tendency to bring water over my head :-P

But here it is now :-) My next story, and I hope you'll enjoy it :-D

I want to give special thanks to my beta, Chandrakanta! She's absolutely awesome, helping me with this story when she's already helping me with A Lost Soul!

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

…**..**

**THE PERFECT PARTNER PROGRAM  
BY  
MARIECARRO**

**CHAPTER 1 SINGLE AGAIN**

* * *

I dropped my bag just inside the door and gave it a hard enough kick to make it slide into the opposite wall with a loud bang. I imagined it was George's head and it gave me some satisfaction, but I needed another outlet for my anger, so I threw my keys at my bedroom door as well.

"Fuck you, George," I said into the empty apartment. What did he know anyway? Well, according to my mom, everything that was needed to be the perfect boyfriend. She was going to freak out when she found out that George had broken up with me. It had been her dream to have him as her son-in-law, as that would make up for the disappointment of having me as her daughter.

I was so caught up in my anger, I almost threw my phone as well when it started to ring. I didn't have to check the caller ID to know who it was. I already knew that it was my mother.

"Yes?" My tone was biting and unwelcome, indicating that I was too upset to talk right now. You'd think that, as my mother, she would hear that and ask me how I was doing, but no. The first thing that came out of her mouth was just more proof that I was a big flaw in her perfect life.

"_Isabella, what did you do to make George break up with you? How could you?"_ The hand that was not holding the phone curled into a fist. It didn't come as a surprise that she already knew about the breakup. George probably called her the minute I left the restaurant to tell her what happened.

I counted backwards from ten to restrain myself from screaming at my mother. There was no use in arguing with her anyway. I'd learned that a long time ago. I sighed quietly so that she wouldn't hear it through the phone. "I didn't do anything, Mother. It was more what I didn't do that caused him to end it."

"_What in the world do you mean by that, Isabella?"_ I closed my eyes when she used my full name once again. That was just another thing that annoyed me when it came to my mother. She knew how much I disliked my full name, but she stubbornly kept calling me that, insisting that it was a much more mature name than my preferred shortened version.

"What I mean is that, according to him, I don't have the slightest idea on how to act like a girlfriend." I rolled my eyes, and it was in that moment that I realized that I really wasn't that upset about the fact that my relationship was over. I had never really had any kind of deep connection with George and I had always thought of him as a boring guy with a proverbial stick shoved up his ass that needed to be removed. No, what I was upset about was the fact that his words had made me feel unfeminine.

"_That's impossible. I've raised you to be the perfect woman,"_ Mother insisted with a hint of panic lacing her nasal voice. It was in situations like this that I wondered what my dad really saw in my mother.

Now, before you think I sound like a bratty, ungrateful kid, let me tell you a bit about my parents.

My father, Charles Swan, didn't have a lot of money growing up. He wasn't exactly poor either. I guess you could call his family strictly middle-class. They got by pretty well, but they never spent any money on unnecessary luxury.

My grandparents, Geoffrey and Helen Swan, believed in hard work and that you had to earn your respect, but they were never cheap on love. When they died, Dad and I had been heart-broken.

Anyway, Dad was an aspiring police officer when he met my mother at the age of twenty-four. He had recently graduated from the police academy, and he lived in a shitty studio apartment in one of the dirtier neighborhoods of Seattle.

He had been called in to investigate a robbery that had happened in the suburbs.

My mom, Renée Higgenbotham, was nineteen and the daughter of a neighbor. She'd had some friends over, and like all teenage girls, they lived for gossip. They wanted to know what was going on across the street, and when they saw the handsome, dark-haired, young police officer, they convinced Renée that if she flirted with him, he would probably tell her a thing or two.

To make a long version short, she charmed the pants off him—she could act nice and innocent when she wanted to—and my dad fell head over heels for the younger woman.

At first, they snuck around with their relationship, since Charlie wasn't what the Higgenbotham's wanted for their daughter, but when Renée found out that she was pregnant at the age of twenty, everything changed.

She had run to her parents, crying her eyes out, and they'd threatened to revoke the trust fund they'd set up for her unless she stepped up and married the man responsible for the predicament she found herself in.

She had reluctantly agreed—her intention had never been to become that serious with Charlie—and they got married as soon as the wedding was put together, which was two months later.

The marriage wasn't a happy one. My dad tried, since he was still very much in love with my mother, but she did everything she could to show how unhappy she was. She even went so far as to threaten with an abortion, and had my dad not begged her on his bare knees, I wouldn't have been here today.

Once I was born, she started an affair with the man she'd wanted to marry from the start—a lawyer named Phil Dwyer—and she didn't even try to keep it a secret from my dad.

Feeling miserable that his wife was so unhappy, Dad buried himself in his work, which caused him to advance very quickly. Only four years after I was born, he was promoted to Chief of Police, and a whole new world opened up to him. He was suddenly viewed as a socialite and got invited to all kinds of events and parties.

My mother was delighted and she dropped Phil faster than a hot pan. She _finally_ had the husband she'd wanted all along.

Dad thought that Renée had changed and that their marriage would now go for the better and it did. Whenever Dad was nearby, she was the ideal wife and mother, but whenever she was alone with me, she didn't hesitate to show me how much she still blamed me for how her life turned out.

She wasn't supposed to get kids until after she was married to a successful man, and she would preferably have been at least twenty-five when that happened. Instead, I came five years earlier, conceived during a night of teenage rebellion, fathered by a man that was the complete opposite of what she wanted.

So, yeah, I couldn't exactly say that I was my mother's biggest fan.

But I still had a decent childhood. Whenever my mother felt too tired of me, she shipped me off to my grandparents, who lived in a neighborhood full of kids my age, and I got to play and just have fun. Dad would come and get me on the evenings and we'd have dinner there before going back home.

My mother believed she'd raised me to be the perfect woman, but my Nana had raised me to be my own person, and since I respected Nana loads more than my mother, I listened to her. I just pretended to listen to my mother's nagging to appease her and get her off my back.

"Maybe he felt threatened by how perfect I was," I said and rolled my eyes again.

My mother huffed. _"Well, whatever happened, you better apologize to him and fix your relationship."_ With that, she hung up the phone, and I exhaled with relief. Now I was free from her until she realized that I wouldn't go back to George even if I was offered money. He was just not my type, and I knew that now.

Desperately needing something to calm me down, I went to my freezer and retrieved my B&J chocolate fudge ice-cream and a spoon before sitting down in front of the TV and watching re-runs of Friends. That show was, without a doubt, the best one that had ever existed.

I was in the middle of that episode when Ross and Phoebe date a divorced couple, which causes them to fight as if they were the exes, when my phone rang. Checking the caller ID, I smiled widely as I answered with a few lines of the episode.

"I knew you would throw that in my face. She apologized and apologized. What more do you want?!"

"_We want the last six years back!"_ Rebecca Walters, my BFF and sister from another mister, replied.

"So do we! So. Do. We!" We erupted in laughter, and I almost fell off the couch. When we were finally able to calm down and catch our breath, I asked her to wait so that I could get my hands-free headset. "Alright, Sissy, talk to me," I said once everything was in its place.

"_You already know why I'm calling, sweet thing. Word spreads like a goddamn STD in this town. So tell me, what the fudge happened between you and dead meat."_

I giggled at her nickname for George. She had never made it secret that she despised that man as much as she despised pickles, which was a lot.

"I am able to inform you that dead meat, AKA George Carter, is officially out of my life." I threw the empty ice-cream bucket in the trash and decided that I needed some real food, so I started to rummage through my fridge to see what I had. "By the way, do you know what I can make with a zucchini, a few carrots, a half red onion, a lump of cheddar, and a two day old bowl of salsa that's actually edible?" I guess it was time for me to go grocery shopping.

"_Do you have bread?"_

"A few slices, I think." I checked the bread basket and found four slices of whole wheat bread.

"_Then you can make an awesome Panini, but back to the important stuff. You, dead meat, what happened?"_

I rolled my eyes and summarized what had happened at the restaurant that George took me to for lunch. It had been one of those fancy places where everyone that worked there kissed your ass in hopes of getting a huge tip.

It had started with him commenting on my way of eating. He wondered why I was so sophisticated when we went to Sunday brunch at my parents', but when we were alone I ate like an animal.

I didn't eat like an animal, thank you very much. Just because I took larger bites when I wasn't under the scrutiny of my mother, it didn't make me unsophisticated.

After that, the things about me that bothered him just started to spew from his mouth. I'd eventually gotten tired of it and told him to shut up. He'd looked shocked by my outburst, and when he regained his composure he said that it was the icing on the proverbial cake. He couldn't continue with his hope that he could change me.

George Carter could just go fuck himself.

I wasn't in need of a change. I was awesome just as I was. Nana, Pops, Dad, and Becca had told me that repeatedly. They'd never lied to me before, so I trusted them.

"_George was a motherfucker and you should be glad that you're rid of him."_

"Oh, believe me, I am! He was much more my mother's type anyway."

"_Hence the reason of why he's a motherfucker."_

"Oh, eeww, Sissy! That's an image I don't want in my head." I shuddered when the unwanted images came anyway. Just the thought of my mother and George together made me want to hurl. Where was a dunk of bleach when you needed it?

"_Yeah, yeah, whatever. I want to know what your plan is now."_

"Plan for what?"

"_Well, duh! You're hot, sexy, and single. We need to get you out on the market, babe, and find you a new beau. Preferably a normal one."_

I groaned. "I'm thinking about just quitting on dating. Maybe I'll become a lesbo." I said the last thing mostly to myself, but Becca heard it.

"_Whoa, hold your horses there, darling! As much as I would still love you if you were rubbing rugs instead of poles, that's insane. You can't just quit. You're only twenty-six."_

"Yes, but I've been fucked over for the last time. All the guys I've been dating have been total losers. It's quite obvious that there aren't any good men out there."

"_You shut your dirty mouth. My Solomon is perfect in every way."_

I chuckled at her. "I meant for me. You know very well that I wish I could find my own Solomon."

"_And you will, but not if you quit, stupid!"_

"Yeah, yeah, okay, I get it. So, you want to go out tonight?"

"_Oh, girl! You know I'd love to, but I have plans with my man. Call Maggie, she's on a break from Daniel, _again_, so you can hunt together."_

I didn't even have to think about that. "No, I don't want to go with Maggie. She's nice and all, but we both know that Daniel will follow her there and the night will end up with them making out in some corner. I want my sissy with me when I look for potential beaus."

"_I'm sorry, darling. Rain check?"_

I sighed. "Fine, I guess I'll just get back to my Panini then." I had really hoped to get drunk tonight, or at least get a good buzz and maybe find a handsome stranger that could get my thoughts off George.

"_That's the spirit, babe. Say hi to Joey and Chandler from me."_ Oh, she knew me so well. My night would be me stuffing my face with goodies and continuing my Friends marathon.

"Will do. Talk to you another time, Sissy."

"_Absolutely, darling. Have a good night."_

I sighed again as I started to prepare for my lonely celebration of being single again.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, there you have it! The first chapter :-D Now tell me what you think :-D I want to know!


	2. Chapter 2 The Acceptance

**A/N: **I realized that I never told you in the first chapter that this story will have weekly updates :-) Yeah, you read that right! Every Monday, be prepared to read another chapter of The Perfect Partner Program!

I want to thank you for all the alerts and favorites I received with the last chapter. It blew my mind! I think I got over 80 alerts and at least 30 favorites! That's incredible for only one chapter, so thank you! :-D

Also special thanks to my beta, Chandrakanta. She's the one correcting my mistakes and helps me to learn from them.

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**CHAPTER 2 THE ACCEPTANCE**

* * *

Something wasn't right. I could feel it in my entire body, and my mother was way too happy for normal behavior. Only last week, she was still pissed at me since I hadn't made any move to repair my so-called relationship with George during the month that had passed, but now she acted as if she was completely fine with it, which I knew she wasn't.

It was Sunday and I was at my parents' place for our weekly brunch, which I hadn't been able to excuse myself out of this week either. Mother insisted on us having brunch every week, even though neither of us enjoyed it. It was just something we were supposed to do since that was what she always did growing up.

Dad didn't enjoy these affairs either, but that was mostly because Mother demanded for us to dress up. I don't think she would ever accept that Dad and I weren't the type of people who felt comfortable in suits and dresses. We were more jeans and t-shirt people.

I snickered at Dad when he once again tucked on the collar of his dress shirt, and he glared at me in return. "Don't look at me like that," I said to him when Mother was in the other room. "I'm on your side in this, remember?"

Dad grunted and loosened his tie. Mother immediately tightened it again when she reentered the room, and Dad rolled his eyes when she had her back to him.

I frowned when she turned to me with a smile she thought was warm and inviting, when in reality it gave me the chills.

She continued giving me that smile for the duration of the meal. She made me nervous, but I couldn't call her out on it because, knowing my mother, she would only wave it away as if I were imagining it all.

"Isabella, I have something for you," she eventually said, and suddenly an envelope appeared in her hand. Where she got it from, I couldn't tell. It was as if she conjured it from nothing.

She offered the official-looking manila to me with that same bone-chilling smile, and I hesitantly accepted it.

"What's this?" I asked suspiciously. What could Mother possibly have concocted together this time? News that made my mother this happy was never good in my book.

"A gift," she replied with a shrug, as if it were a common occurrence for her to give me things.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "But my birthday isn't until September."

Mother sighed. "Yes, I know that"—_no, she didn't_—"but this isn't a birthday gift."

I opened the envelope to find a typed-written letter inside.

"_Dear Miss Swan,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to attend The PPP later this year. _

_Your application was chosen as one of fifteen for this year's class and you will arrive to our school in the fall, together with your classmates._

_Further information will be given to you at the start of the term._

_Sincerely_

_Mrs. E. A. Cullen, Headmistress"_

"What the _fuck_ is this?" I stared at my mother, feeling intense anger boiling up inside. I knew exactly what The PPP was. It was short for The Perfect Partner Program, a school in Columbus, Ohio, where they brainwashed you to act like a freaking robot, all in the purpose of pleasing the opposite sex.

The name in itself gave me chills.

"Isabella, language," Mother reprimanded me, but I couldn't have cared less.

"Answer my question," I said through clenched teeth.

Mother sighed. "After your breakup with George, I realized that there was so much I hadn't been able to teach you, so I sent in an application in your name. The acceptance letter came this morning."

I gaped at the woman that gave me life in disbelief. This was low, even for her. "_I'm _not the one to blame for the breakup. _He_ broke up with _me_, remember?"

"I talked to George, and he told me everything. There's no reason to pass the blame, Isabella."

"What is all this about?" Dad asked from my other side. He eyed the letter in my hand curiously. It was obvious that he had no idea what Mother had done.

I offered him the letter and he read through it with furrowed brows. When he was finished, he looked up with a confused expression. "Renée, what's your intention with this?"

Mother straightened her back when she understood that she wouldn't get Dad's support. "I did it with our daughter's best interest at heart, Charles." _Bullshit!_ "And George agreed to take her back after she's gone through the program."

_What!?_

"As if I would take that motherfucker back," I sneered and took pleasure in Mother's distraught expression at my crude language.

"Isabella, that's enough. Please, act your age," Dad said calmly from his seat. It didn't matter that he disliked this as much as I did. He had never liked it when I cursed too much because he thought that made me sound unintelligent.

I lowered my gaze guiltily.

"This is exactly why she needs to go, Charles. It's obvious that we weren't able to raise her in the right way if this is how she acts toward her own parents." _Only toward you. _"Now that George so kindly agreed to take her back on the condition that she goes through the program, it's a necessity."

"Are you suggesting that no other guy will ever want me if I don't go through with it?" I challenged.

"With the way you're acting it's not a suggestion, it's a premonition," she replied with a cold voice. That wasn't even the worst she could have said. She was restraining herself for the sake of my dad. Had he not been in the same room, she wouldn't have hesitated to tell what was really on her mind.

"Renée, that's ridiculous. Bella's an attractive young woman that any guy would be lucky to be with." Mother recoiled from Dad's words as if he'd slapped her. _Good!_

I gave her a smug smile. She couldn't make me do anything as long as Dad was on my side.

"All of this doesn't matter anyway," I said, "because I'm not going."

Mother turned to me with fire in her eyes. "Oh yes, Isabella, you are."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "As if you could make me. I'm twenty-six, and you have no say whatsoever when it comes to my decisions."

Mother gave me that same bone-chilling smile from before, and I felt a flutter of nerves in my stomach. What did she know that I didn't?

"Maybe I don't, but the law certainly does." Her words made Dad straighten up and the hair raise on my arms.

"Whatever do you mean by that, Renée?" Dad asked sharply. He took his job as the Chief of Police very seriously.

Mother's smile widened. "By sending a filled-in in application bearing the applicant's signature, you agree to attend the program in case you get accepted. It's legally binding and unbreakable."

"I haven't signed anything," I said but somehow knew that it didn't matter.

Once again, she made a paper appear from nowhere and she offered it to Dad as he was the person of authority in this room. "That is a copy of the application. As you can see, it bears Isabella's signature."

I quickly rose from my chair and stood behind Dad to see what she was talking about. Sure enough, at the bottom of the paper was a perfect forgery of my signature. It could have fooled me had I not been positive that I hadn't signed that paper.

Dad placed the paper down on the table and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

"Dad, I didn't sign that," I said in a whisper.

Dad sighed tiredly. "I know that, honey, but it can't be proven that you didn't. My hands are tied. There's nothing I can do."

_There was _nothing_ he could do?_ _Nothing at all?_ I felt my heart drop when I understood that I had no choice but to attend that stupid program in the fall. Mother had thought of everything when she decided to send me there.

I closed my eyes in defeat and felt my tears burn behind my lids. I had promised myself at a young age that I would never let my mother see me cry, but this was by far the worst thing she'd done yet. I never, in my wildest imagination, thought she'd go to such lengths in her obsession to transform me from being the disappointment I was in her eyes. No matter what I felt for my mother, that fact hurt like no other.

I looked up at the woman that I'd never really known, even though she gave birth to me, with eyes blank with unshed tears. Her smiled faltered and fell, but she didn't drop her cold look.

All I felt was sadness. I couldn't even take pleasure in knowing that my mother couldn't enjoy her little scheme as much when it was obvious that I wasn't able to fight her and forfeited almost immediately.

"I guess that's it," I said with a shrug. My voice was thick with suppressed sobs. "You win. By sending me to this…this _school_, you will finally have succeeded in transforming me into the emotionless robot you always wanted me to be. Congratulations."

A few tears escaped and I quickly wiped them away. Dad watched me with a pained expression. It destroyed him to see me like this, but there really wasn't anything he could do, no matter how much he wanted it.

I didn't blame him. It wasn't his fault. Had the application on the table been the only copy, we could have burned it and forgot all about it—he would have done that for me without hesitating—but there _was_ another copy, probably residing in an office at the school.

"It was nice seeing you, Dad, but I've got to go." I leaned down and kissed his cheek, completely ignoring my mother's protests at my sudden decision to leave before the brunch was over.

I didn't even spare her a glance when I passed her on my way to the front door.

**¤/PPP\\\¤**

"_She did what?!"_

"She forged my fucking signature, that's what she did! I have no choice but to go to the academy of the Stepford Wives now."

"_That bitch!"_ Rebecca exclaimed. _"Don't worry, darling. When the authorities comes looking for you for breaking a legal agreement, you can hide in Solomon's and my basement. I know he won't mind."_

"As much as I would love to take you up on that offer, Sissy, I can't be on the run for the rest of my life."

"_Says who? We could fix you an entirely new identity. It would give you an excellent out from that worthless place you call a job."_

I chuckled at that. I was working as a receptionist at a stockbroker office downtown. The pay was decent, but all I did during the days was answering the phone and scheduling meetings with the owners. Not very mentally stimulating if you ask me.

"I'm going to have to quit anyway since I'll be gone for a year," I muttered to myself.

"_Sister from another mister said what? A year? You're kidding me, right?"_

I sighed when I thought of it. "I'm afraid not. According to their webpage, the program is like a boarding-school where you live in rooms that are shared by either two or three students. The term starts on August twenty-fourth and ends on August twenty-third next year. They even keep you during the summer!"

The research I'd done hadn't exactly made me more sympathetic toward the program. Apparently, while attending the school, you were paired up with a volunteer who was supposed to act as your boyfriend or girlfriend. These volunteers were the ones you were supposed to test your new _knowledge_ on.

It made me nervous, thinking about me being paired up with a stranger who I was supposed to pretend was my boyfriend. The thought was just wrong and made me sick to my core.

"_Aw, hell no! So you're saying that we won't see each other for an entire year?"_

"They _do_ allow visitors and I will be able to go into town whenever I want. They're not very strict. All they demand is that you are inside school grounds after midnight, as that is when the gates close, and that you attend all of the classes."

"_Even if they do allow visitors, it's not like we can see each other every week. The freaking school is in fudging Ohio for fuck's sake! That's almost two thousand five hundred miles from here."_

"I know, Sissy, and it sucks giant donkey balls, but there really isn't anything I can do."

Becca groaned. _"I guess we'll just have to make this summer worthwhile then."_

"Definitely! Starting tomorrow. I'm going to seize the day and give my boss my two weeks' notice. That way, we'll have the entire summer before our hands."

"_Sounds like a plan, darling."_

It was the only plan I got.

* * *

**A/N: **So, Renée's a real bitch in this one :-P What's your thoughts on that?

I love Becca! Bella and Becca's relationship is inspired by the relationship I have with my sister by the way ;-)


	3. Chapter 3 The Arrival

**A/N: **Update time! :-D

With the last time, most of you wanted Bella to put up more of a fight. Well, while I understand that, this story is mainly about her time at the academy, which is why I want her to get there quickly. Bella is a very independent person, and she would have fought her mother with teeth and claws had it not been a legal matter. Had she refused to go to the program, they could have sued her for wasting their resources.

Anyway, Special thanks go to my beta Chandrakanta. This wonderful woman has a lot of stuff that she's doing at the same time and that she was willing to take on this story as well is amazing. She deserves some serious credit!

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 3 THE ARRIVAL**

**August**

"You'll have to call me _every_ night, babe, do you hear me? I won't accept anything else," Becca said into my hair while hugging me goodbye.

It was two days before the start of the term at The PPP and I was preparing to drive my ass to Ohio. We were currently outside my parents' house where I'd been living for the past two weeks since I'd terminated the lease on my apartment. No use in paying rent for an apartment I wouldn't live in for a year, no matter how much I loved the place.

During those two weeks, I'd kept to myself and as far away from my mother as possible. Our relationship hadn't exactly improved since that fateful Sunday when she burned her last bridge. It had only gotten worse. She didn't even try to hide her disappointment in me around my dad anymore. Whenever she got the chance, she would mention something she didn't like about me.

"I promise, Sissy. And if I don't call, you'll know that it's because the man with my remote control won't allow me to," I said, trying to make a joke to lighten the mood. But it fell flat when Becca pulled away from our embrace and looked at me seriously.

"Whatever happens, don't let them change you too much, okay? Always remember that there are people back home who love you exactly as you are."

I watched as her eyes became blank with unshed tears, and I could feel my own waterworks begin. "No, Sissy, don't cry. You'll only get me started," I said through a sob.

The truth was that I was terrified of what would happen once I arrived at the school. I had no idea what to really expect as you couldn't always rely on the internet. For all I knew, their webpage could be a fraud. The school might in actuality look more like a concentration camp with underground labs where they installed robotic chips into the students' brains.

Okay, so I knew that was probably just a _tiny_ bit exaggerated, but still.

I turned away from Becca and looked at Dad with sad eyes. He met my gaze with equally sad eyes and enveloped me in a tight, warm hug. This pained him just as much as it pained me, if not even more. This whole ordeal had opened his eyes to Mother's behavior and real persona, so he was going through a kind of crisis at the moment. He needed to re-evaluate his ability to judge a character correctly, he'd told me. He didn't like that someone he thought he knew had been able to fool him for such a long time.

He'd always known that Mother's and my relationship was strained, but he'd never meddled because he believed strongly in each individual minding their own business, and as long as we didn't ask for him to get involved, he'd stay out of it.

"I'm going to miss you, Doll. You have no idea how much," he whispered and the tears that I so far had been able to keep at bay started to fall freely.

"I'm going to miss you, too, Papa," I whispered back. I used to call him that all the time when I was little. My first words were Pa-Pa instead of Da-Da, and so it automatically became my name for him. It wasn't until I got into puberty that I started to call him Dad. Papa was reserved for moments between just him and me now, just like Doll—which became my nickname shortly after I was born since Dad thought I looked like a little dolly when I was a baby.

The nickname caused him to tighten his hold on me for a second before releasing me and placing his hands on my cheeks while gazing into my tear-filled eyes. He gently leaned in and tenderly kissed my forehead.

"Take care of yourself, honey." He let me go, and I climbed into my car. I didn't even spare Mother a glance, even though she was with us on the driveway.

I ignited the engine, but before I drove off, I gave both Becca and Dad the promise that I would call when I checked in at the motel tonight and again as soon as I arrived in Ohio. I blew a kiss their way through my open window, and then I was off.

**¤/PPP\\\¤**

I let out an impressed whistle when I lay my eyes on the school building as I drove up to the gates. Well, it definitely didn't look like a concentration camp that was for sure. Unless this was just a front and all the barracks and torture equipment were in the backyard.

The building looked like a freaking castle, with a gigantic green lawn in front of the entrance and huge oak trees that framed everything so that it looked like a picture from a story book.

I drove up to the gates, but they stayed closed. I frowned in confusion. I'd called the school last week to announce that I would arrive today, so they were expecting me.

The sound of static crackling made me whip my head around and I spotted an intercom nestled in the perfectly trimmed bushes that surrounded the driveway.

Instinctively, I leaned out of my open window to get closer to the speaker when a male voice greeted me.

"_How can I help you, Miss?"_

I studied the intercom to see if there was a button I was supposed to press for him to hear me back. I couldn't see one, so I leaned even closer in case he would hear me better.

"Hi, my name's Isabella Swan. I'm one of the students for the new term."

"_Can you hold up a valid identification for the camera, please?"_

Wow, tight security for a school. I reached for my purse on the passenger seat and dug around until I found my driver's license, then wondered where the camera was placed. I couldn't spot one anywhere, and I was sure I looked stupid as I scanned my surroundings.

I was obviously not the first one to hesitate with the identification because after only a few seconds, the man told me to hold it up in front of the speaker in an amused voice.

I did as he told and the gates almost immediately opened with a buzz.

"_Thank you. Welcome to the PPP Academy, Miss Swan."_

"Thank you," I replied politely and drove inside the school grounds.

When I closed in on the main building, I saw a black-haired man dressed in a dark blue shirt and black pants. He was young—younger than me—and he appeared to be waiting for me.

For a second, I feared that this was the volunteer that was to act as my boyfriend and my hold on the wheel tightened. I did have a small tendency to judge before getting to know someone, a personality trait I had acquired by being my mother's daughter, and this was a _boy_. I'd at least expected someone my own age.

The boy walked around the car and opened my door for me before offering me his hand to help me climb out. I hesitated in taking it. I could climb out of my car by myself, thank you very much.

I did, however, accept his offered hand, but only until I was straightened out. Then I withdrew my hand quickly. The boy smiled widely.

"Hi, Miss Swan," he greeted me formally. "My name's Seth Williams. Would it be okay for you if I drove your car into the garage?"

I frowned. Was that how a "boyfriend" should act? Was that a part of the program?

"Uh…yeah, sure," I said after a second and handed Seth my car keys.

"Thank you, Miss. I promise that no harm will come to your car."

I shrugged at that. It wasn't exactly an expensive car or a new model of any kind. It was just a car, so if there happened to be scratch on it later, I wouldn't exactly throw a bitch fit.

When Seth drove off, I stood awkwardly outside the building and looked around for several minutes. Was I supposed to just go inside or should I wait for someone to come get me?

I took a tentative step up the small stone stairs, and when nothing happened, I took another one.

I was right outside the door, reaching out to turn the handle, when it was opened noisily and I startled.

A woman in her late forties or early fifties came outside and looked at me with strangely youthful eyes. She had a heart-shaped face and caramel hair that fell down in natural waves. The only thing that indicated her age was the barely noticeable wrinkles by her eyes.

Her face was open and kind, and once I got my heart to calm down, I exhaled in relief.

"My dear, what are you doing out here? Everyone's waiting for you inside," she said with a bewildered expression.

I raised my eyebrows in shock. "They are?" I asked.

"Well, of course. You're Isabella Swan, correct?"

I nodded mutely. It was a bit scary that this woman already knew who I was when I clearly had no idea who she was.

When I didn't say anything else, understanding lit the woman's brown eyes. "Seth forgot to tell you to come straight inside, didn't he? That boy! When he's close to cars, everything else flies out the window, I swear!"

I was speechless as the woman gently, but firmly, grabbed my hand and led me inside. "I am Mrs. Esme Cullen, by the way. The headmistress and co-founder of The PPP, and I would like to give you a personal welcome to my school."

I wanted to hate her like I hated my mother, since she was the founder of such an unnatural institution, I really did, but I found it impossible. This woman was the complete opposite of my mother. She was open and warm, and this was something I was able to determine after being in her presence for less than five minutes.

Mrs. Cullen looked at me expectantly and I realized she was waiting for a response from me. "Thank you," I said belatedly.

She gave me a small smile and gestured with her hand that I should follow her. "Everyone is gathered in the auditorium, which is classroom number one-hundred. Most of them arrived yesterday. Only a few came here this morning like you. You were the last one, but that was also expected since you had the farthest way to drive."

I only nodded. There really wasn't a way for me to respond to that.

"What was it that made you choose our school?" Mrs. Cullen continued.

I opened my mouth to answer, but stopped myself in the last second. For all she knew, _I_ was the one that applied. Not that my mother forced me. I was pretty sure she wouldn't take that news very well.

"My ex-boyfriend broke up with me because he thought I couldn't act as a girlfriend. I'd heard about your school before, so I applied. I never thought I would actually get in."

It wasn't a complete lie at least. I took some comfort in that.

"Your application interested me. You seem to be a person who knows who she is and whom she wants to be, but still, here you are. Most applicants are people who've lost their way, people who needs a change in their lives."

"And you're able to provide them with that change?"

Mrs. Cullen smiled at me. "I like to believe that I am. So far, I haven't had _one_ student that didn't gain something from their experience at my school."

I was intrigued. This wasn't at all how I imagined the headmistress of The PPP to be like. I'd expected someone like the woman in _Stepford Wives_, the one married to Christopher Walken and the leader of all the robots. But Mrs. Cullen wasn't like that at all.

Still, there was something nagging in the back of my head. "Why do you call it _The Perfect Partner Program?_"

She chuckled softly. "It was my husband, Carlisle, who came up with the name. He said that it would bear two implications. It would make independent people cower away as the name would mean something bad to them, but it would lure the ones in need of help in. As I said, the applicants are usually people who've lost their way. Through this program, they learn to accept themselves as they are: perfectly imperfect human beings."

I blinked in shock. _That_ was what this program was really about? It did not sound all too bad. Maybe I wouldn't be _completely_ miserable around here.

Mrs. Cullen stopped in front of a set of wooden, double-doors. "Shall we?" she asked.

I smiled and nodded.

* * *

**A/N: **Don't worry guys! I know it seems as if Bella has accepted the program already, but that's far from the truth. She still has a lot of doubts, but for now, she'll cooperate!

So, she's at the school now. Not long until Edward enters the story x) I know that's what you've been waiting for :-) Well, you'll have to wait just a little bit longer ;-P

See ya next Monday, my lovelies!


	4. Chapter 4 The Perfect Partner Program

**A/N: **Update time! :-D

Most of you were a bit annoyed with the last chapter because you wanted Bella to just tell Esme about the forged signature.

Please remember this, the application is a signed contract and since there's nothing that can prove that Bella did not sign it, and if her mother denied it all (Which she would) it could all go to court and it would be a long drawn out process with words against words.

Esme Cullen might seem like a nice little lady, but if the wrong buttons are pushed, like pulling her school into a war between mother and daughter, let me just say that it would be safe to get out of the state as fast as possible. This is something you'll get a taste of later in the story.

I also got a complaint about the fact that the program seemed too long. Apparently, courses like this would only take a month. Listen to this then. The story is called The Perfect Partner **Program**, not The Perfect Partner **Course.** It's a program containing all sorts of courses, and follow-up courses, etc.

And please, don't stop and think about the smallest of details. While I do love details, the more important for me, with a story, is the whole.

Now, I'm sorry about this little rant of mine, but I needed to get it out.

Anyway, Special thanks go to my beta **Chandrakanta**. This wonderful woman has a lot of stuff that she's doing at the same time and that she was willing to take on this story as well is amazing. She deserves some serious credit!

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 4 THE PERFECT PARTNER PROGRAM**

The auditorium turned out to be a rebuilt classroom that seated fifty or so students. Not even half of the seats were occupied.

Up at the front, I saw a group of people, all in their thirties or forties. I guessed that they were the professors.

When the doors opened and I stepped inside with Mrs. Cullen, all heads turned to me. I didn't look down in embarrassment. It wasn't my fault that I'd arrived a little later than the rest.

Among the students, I counted up to six, seven including me, girls and eight guys, all in their twenties.

At least I would fit in the group.

A blonde man in his fifties came up to me and Mrs. Cullen. He offered me his hand and I accepted it. "You must be Isabella Swan. I am Carlisle Cullen, founder of The PPP," the man said with an English accent.

"Nice to meet you," I said while shaking his hand.

"The pleasure's all mine." He gestured with his hand toward the seats. "Take a seat and we will begin shortly." He took Mrs. Cullen's hand and they walked up front together.

I looked around for a good seat. I didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable by sitting down next to them, but at the same time I didn't want to come off as an outsider by sitting separated from the others.

Only two of the girls sat next to each other and acted like they knew the other. They were both of Native-American origin, so maybe they _did_ know each other.

I took an empty seat in the middle of the group. It would make me a part of the class, but it also showed that I didn't really know anyone here.

While we waited for everything to begin, I took in my surroundings and studied my "classmates" for lack of a better word. I had always been a person that enjoyed studying the humans around me. It entertained me in a way.

There were the two Native-American girls, as well as two guys that were of the same origin.

A girl with straight black hair that reached her shoulders looked to be a foreigner, but I couldn't determine from where. Then there was a strawberry blonde girl, a brown-haired girl with curls that made her look taller than she was, and a pale-blonde girl.

I couldn't see all of the guys since a few of them sat behind me, but I did see a dark-haired guy with a mild case of acne, another with Asian origin, and a guy with chocolate-colored skin. These three, as well as the Native-American guys, were the ones I could see from my spot. There were three more guys behind me, but it wouldn't exactly be subtle of me to turn around in my seat and stare at them.

The professors were all chatting amongst themselves and it gave me the opportunity to study them as well without getting caught.

Two of the women were blonde, but while one was golden-blonde with smooth waves, the other was a pale-blonde with hair straight as corn silk.

The third woman had short black hair that was styled in a very chic look. She looked younger than the others, but that could have been because of her height. She was a tiny woman.

The three men were all as different as night and day; two blondes and one dark-haired. The dark-haired man was a huge burly guy that would tower over me if we stood next to each other. One of the blondes had long hair tied back in a ponytail. He was tall and of a lanky build. The other had curly hair and a crooked smile that I was sure could make a girl faint if he shot it in her direction.

I noticed that the pale-blonde woman and the long-haired man were standing very close to each other and my eyes zeroed in on the identical wedding bands on their fingers. They were, however, the only ones of the professors that appeared to be married. I couldn't see rings on any of the others fingers.

Mrs. Cullen turned to the class with a smile, indicating that it was time to start, and all the professors sat down in chairs behind her.

"Welcome, all of you, to The Perfect Partner Program. Before we assign your rooms and volunteers, we want to give you some background story of the academy, and so I present to you the founder of the program, as well as my husband, Carlisle Cullen."

Everyone clapped politely as Mr. Cullen rose from his chair.

I heard how the two Native girls giggled while they cast appreciative glances at him, but I think I was the only one that heard.

It was true that Mr. Cullen was a very handsome man. His age suited him well, and he looked like one of those men that only became better-looking the older he got.

He was well-built, tall and proud; his blonde hair had streaks of grey in it, but his blue eyes had a youthful glimmer in them.

"Thank you, love." And of course he also had that English accent. "As my wife said, I am the founder of The PPP. I used to work as a psychiatrist, mostly with couples counselling, and I realized during that time that the reason my clients came to me was because they couldn't understand each other. Not because of lack of communication, but because we think differently as men and women.

"For centuries, we've tried to understand the opposite sex, but mostly, it still remains a mystery. So, I decided that, together with my wife, I would start a program designed to help men and women understand each other on a level never reached before.

"For years, we studied the human mind, both the primal one as well as the more modern kind, and it was through that research that we were able to create what we now teach our students.

"Unfortunately, our idea wasn't well-received at first. It seemed like people were afraid of the knowledge they would come across in our program, and they chose to stay ignorant and continue making the same mistakes they always made in relationships, so we had a very hard time finding employees.

"Eventually, we were able to find our professors. They've been with us almost since the beginning, and now they know just as much, if not more, as my wife and I about the subject.

"That's why I would like to present to you first: Ms. Rosalie Hale,"—the golden blonde woman stood up and smiled—"Ms. Alice Brandon,"—Ms. Hale sat down and the black-haired woman stood up. Her smile was wide and radiant—"Mr. Emmett McCarty,"—the burly guy didn't stand up, but he gave a wave and a wink. The curly-haired girl to my right giggled, but tried to cover it up by clearing her throat—"Mr. Jasper Whitlock,"—the blonde man with the crooked smile tilted his head forward in greeting—"Mrs. Katrina Martin, and lastly, Mr. Garrett Martin." The married couple stood up together with their hands entwined.

Mr. Cullen continued his speech, but I was unable to continue listening. While Mrs. Cullen had soothed my worries, Mr. Cullen made my doubts come back. I hadn't liked it when he said _"a program designed to help men and women understand each other on a level never reached before."_

If men and women had such a hard time understanding each other, how could you possibly teach in the subject? The person would have to be both man and woman to be able to understand both parts.

So how had they succeeded here? Their so-called _research_ made me nervous. What did they do? Did they experiment on students to broaden their knowledge of the human mind?

I pulled myself from my thoughts when Mrs. Cullen held up a bunch of golden keys.

"Since some of you came here yesterday, you've already received your room numbers and keys, but those of you that arrived today, just come forward when I call your name."

"Talia Samra,"—the foreign-looking girl stood up and walked forward—"You will share room with Emily Young." Mrs. Cullen gestured for Emily to make herself known. It was one of the Native girls.

"Charlotte Moore, you will share room with Tanya Denali." The pale-blonde girl fetched her key and gave a small wave to the strawberry blonde girl, who waved back.

"Isabella Swan…" I looked up. "You will share a three-bedroom suite with Jessica Stanley and Leah Clearwater." That left the other Native girl, and the curly-haired girl. I went up to Mrs. Cullen and got my key. It had the number 308 on it.

When I sat back down, the curly-haired girl leaned to me and offered me her hand. "Hi, I'm Jessica."

"I'm Bella, but you already knew that." Jessica smiled and leaned back to her own seat. She seemed like a nice girl.

Mrs. Cullen continued with the guys and I learned that the Asian guy's name was Ben Cheney, the black-haired guy was Eric Yorkie, and the dark-skinned guy's name was Tyler Crowley.

The two Native guys' names were Quil Ateara and Jared Cameron.

The three guys that I hadn't been able to see before were all ones that had arrived today.

"Riley Biers, you will share room with Quil Ateara." A tall, muscular man with blonde hair came from behind me. When he'd taken his key and turned back around, I saw that he had brown, kind eyes.

"And that leaves Peter Matthews and James Hunter to share room." A pale-blonde man, and another with light-brown hair, walked up to Mrs. Cullen and accepted the keys she held out.

"I believe that was everyone." She turned to Mr. Cullen. "Shall I notify the volunteers?" Mr. Cullen nodded and Mrs. Cullen left the room.

Mr. Cullen began explaining the background of the volunteers. "When we first started the program, we tried a theoretical approach. We only used that system for one year, since it was afterward proven to be a very ineffective method. We were introduced to a company that was in contact with young people involved with volunteer work. Most of them didn't want to participate in the program as they didn't see it as _real_ volunteer work, but the longer we stayed open, the more interested people became. Now we have a waiting list for those that want to participate. It looks very good on their résumés to have done volunteer work here."

_A waiting list? Seriously?_

"The new practical method we used turned out to be much better, since the students got to act out the subjects we taught. It made them understand much easier."

It did not matter that what he said was logical. I still thought it was creepy. How could I possibly pretend that some stranger was my boyfriend and feel comfortable with it? How far did this _"acting out the subject"_ go? Was physical contact involved, like hugs and _kisses_? Did they have any sorts of restrictions of how far you were allowed to go with your volunteer? Had it ever happened that a student slept with their volunteer?

Somehow, it didn't seem impossible to me.

To act as if someone was your boyfriend for an entire year must surely leave its mark.

The door, that Mrs. Cullen disappeared through before, opened and Mrs. Cullen was back with a mixed group of people in their twenties. They were all bunched together, so there wasn't any particular one that stood out to me. I would have to study them closer later.

I did, however, notice that the young boy from before, Seth, wasn't one of them. I guess he just worked here as some kind of valet of sorts then.

I saw how Mrs. Cullen placed two glass bowls with paper strips on the table that was close to the front. She also held a clipboard in her hand.

"In assigning our volunteers, we go through them alphabetically, having them draw a student's name from one of these bowls. Since this is the first day, we like to make it into a game. We've noticed how that relaxes everybody a bit more."

I was shocked. Was she saying that the choice of who would act as my boyfriend for a year would be determined on a random draw?

It had all sounded so scientifically worked out when Mr. Cullen spoke of the program.

"When you hear your name, just raise your hand so that your volunteer knows who you are."

"We'll begin with Rachel Barker." Yet another girl of Native-American origin stepped forward from the group of volunteers and reached into one of the bowls. "Riley Biers," she read and looked up to scan the students.

I saw her lock eyes with Riley behind me. She smiled and nodded to show that she knew who he was.

"Next is Jacob Black." A man with long black hair and russet colored skin stepped forward. He was also of Native-American origin, and I made a quick look around the room to see that ten out of the thirty young people looked to be a part of some tribe. Apart from the four of the students, another six were among the volunteers.

"Leah Clearwater," he said with a deep and smooth voice.

Emily nudged Leah in the side, and Leah blushed. Jacob shot a blinding white smile in the girls' direction, but I also noticed how he glanced at a girl amongst the volunteers. She was a pale girl with brown eyes similar to my own, and long Auburn hair that reached below her shoulder blades. She was a very beautiful girl.

The draw continued in that fashion. A Diego Chavez was paired with Tanya, another Native-American girl named Kim Grace was paired with Tyler. Claire Grey, also Native-American, got James, and Victoria Johnson, a girl with flaming red hair, was paired with Ben.

Paul Lahote—a guy that seemed to know he was good-looking and was obviously arrogant about it—was paired with Emily, and he winked at her, pleased with being paired up with a beautiful Native girl.

"Lauren Mallory." The girl was blonde, her hair looked almost white, but I doubted it was her natural color. It looked rather bleached.

"Peter Matthews," Lauren read and tossed her hair over her shoulder to search the room for Peter. When she saw who he was, she gave him a small smile, but she didn't look all too pleased. I wondered why. What could she possibly have against Peter already? It wasn't like she knew him.

"Edward Masen…" The group separated a bit to reveal a guy that had been standing in the back. He was tall, and lean-muscled. My breath escaped me when he scanned the room and I saw that he had the most beautiful green eyes I'd ever seen. I was a sucker for green eyes.

His hair was covered with a black beanie, but I detected a reddish-brown hairline. I'd never seen such a hair-color before.

All over, the man was gorgeous; he was the complete opposite of George, who was blonde and blue-eyed. Maybe that was why I was so attracted to him. He wouldn't remind me of the douche.

I found myself wishing to be paired up with him, but then thought better of it. If I were to be paired up with him, I would never be able to concentrate on the classes.

Edward walked up to Mrs. Cullen and reached into the bowl that contained the girls' names. "Isabella Swan," he said with a voice that made my insides clench, before I registered what name he'd said.

My eyes snapped from Edward, to Mrs. Cullen, and back to Edward. He was now looking straight at me, and my breath got caught in my throat.

I raised a trembling hand and gave a small wave. Edward smiled and waved back. My heart began beating faster and I had to take a deep breath to calm down.

I had a feeling this would not end well.

* * *

**A/N: **Since you had to endure my rant at the top, I won't say much here :-)

Except, I do welcome criticizing reviews, as long as they're constructive. If you have a complaint, give me suggestions on how you think I could improve it. Don't just tell me what you think is bad.

My mom always told me: "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say it."


	5. Chapter 5 The Interview

**A/N: **It's Monday and you all know what that means :-)

It's time to meet Edward :-)

Special thanks go to my beta **Chandrakanta. **Without her, this story would be filled with irritating mistakes x)

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**CHAPTER 5 THE INTERVIEW**

* * *

I didn't even pay attention to how the rest of the draw went. I was completely absorbed in my thoughts. I couldn't decide if I was lucky as fuck to be paired up with the most beautiful man I'd ever seen, or if it was a bad thing.

How would I be able to stay emotionally detached when I already felt so affected by him? It would be close to impossible.

But then again, why would I want to stay emotionally detached?

Because if things got fucked up, I would still have to work together with him for the remainder of this program, and that would be much too awkward.

I shook my head to clear it. That I was even thinking about it was absurd. My attraction to Edward was simply on a physical level. For all I knew, he could be a complete douchebag, and heaven already knew that I didn't lose one bastard to replace him with another.

I directed my gaze back toward the man that occupied my thoughts and tried to find anything with his looks that would indicate that he shared a similar personality with George.

I tried to find the expensive clothing brands, the arrogant glint in his eyes, and the displeased curling of his upper lip, but I came up empty-handed. This beautiful man in front of me was wearing worn clothes like any normal person. His eyes were light and playful, and his mouth was curled up in a small crooked smile. These features were not what I was used to, and I immediately felt suspicious.

I had never encountered anyone, apart from Dad, Nana, Pops, and Becca, that didn't hide the truth behind false façades, and it had caused me to be very suspicious of people I didn't know.

"All right!" I turned forward to see who had spoken. I didn't recognize the voice. It turned out to be the female pale-blonde professor, Katrina Martin. "Now that everyone's been paired up, we're going to do a small exercise," she said, turning to us students. "I want you to go out on the grounds with your volunteer and interview each other. It's important for this program that you get to know each other, because otherwise it will be hard to go through the classes and exercises that you'll experience together. You'll have half an hour, but there are three questions that you have to ask." Mrs. Martin counted the questions off on her fingers. "'Where are you from?' 'What's your middle name?' and 'What's your favorite thing to do in your free time?' Now, when you come back here, I'm going to ask you to make a brief summary of the other to see how well you've been paying attention."

She made a gesture with her hand toward the volunteers and they immediately parted and paired up with their students. I swallowed thickly when Edward closed in on me. My heart quickened and I tried to appear calm, even though I was everything but that.

Edward reached my seat and gave me that crooked smile I'd seen before. I smiled back, but I was sure it looked stiff and off. It was because I was biting my teeth together to hold back the sigh I almost let out when he smiled at me. The man was too attractive for his own good, and for mine, for that matter.

"Isabella Swan, I know you already know my name, but I'm Edward Masen. It's a pleasure to meet you." He offered me his hand to shake and I had to prevent myself from letting my chin hit the floor.

Attractive, polite, and articulate? That was a dangerous and suspicious combination. I'd never encountered anyone like him before.

I accepted his hand and shook it slowly. I heard myself say "Pleasure's _all_ mine," and two red spots appeared on my cheeks. I really hoped he hadn't been able to hear the underlying meaning of my words.

I think he did, though, because he let out a low chuckle that sent a thrill through my body and made my insides clench in a pleasurable way.

Mrs. Martin gave us a signal that we were good to go and everyone immediately started talking at once.

Edward looked around in amusement. "It's pretty loud in here, don't you think? Let's go outside so we can actually hear each other talk," he said and made a gesture with his hand to indicate that I should go first.

I started to reach for my jacket, but Edward stopped me. "I don't think you need that. It's quite warm outside."

I shrugged and stood up from my chair.

Edward followed closely behind as I made my way toward the door. I could practically feel his breathing on my neck.

I was glad I had my back to him, because he couldn't see me when I swallowed thickly, and I prayed to the God I didn't even believe existed that he couldn't see the hairs on my neck rise up when I shivered.

Edward took the lead when we were out of the room, and once again, I walked through the corridors that had led to the auditorium, but instead of leading me to the main entrance, he took to the right around a corner and out through a small wooden door. He seemed very confident in his way around the building, and before I could stop myself, I broke the silence and I voiced my wonder.

"You seem to know your way around here. Have you been here before?"

We were now outside, probably on the other side of the building, and it did not escape my notice that there were no barracks or torture equipment in sight. I suppressed a chuckle at the thought.

Edward had not answered me yet, but he saw my amused expression and gave me his own smile. This guy smiled a lot. Either it was only a mask, or he was just a genuinely happy guy, if those actually existed in real life.

"Something funny?" he asked.

I don't know what possessed me to voice my thoughts, but that was exactly what I did. "Not really. I just noticed that there wasn't any torture equipment back here."

With his smile still in place, he frowned as if he couldn't really make sense of me. "You're kind of strange, aren't you?"

"The strangest," I replied proudly. I liked being unique. Who cared about being normal? Normal was boring. My mother was boring, which must make her normal, and that just gave me even more reason to want to be abnormal.

"Good," I heard Edward say and I turned my attention back to him. "I like strange."

I winked at him, once again having no idea what possessed me to do it, and grinned. "Then you'll love me."

He laughed, and I felt delighted that I was the one that made him laugh. His laugh was breathtakingly beautiful and I immediately wanted to hear it again.

I remembered our assignment then. "Should we just get those assigned questions out of the way?"

"Sure, do you want to start?"

"Alright, just tell me everything. Middle name; hometown; and favorite pastime, in that order."

He laughed again, and I reveled in it. "My middle name is Anthony, I am from Chicago, and my favorite pastime is to compose music."

My eyes widened, and my heartbeat quickened. There was just something insanely attractive with a musician. "You're a musician? What kind of instruments do you play?"

"I play classical piano, guitar, and I do have a saxophone that I'm currently learning to play on."

"Interesting choice of third instrument. I thought you would say drums or that you were singing or something, since that's mostly what others say."

He nodded. "Yeah, I know, and you'll come to learn that I am not like others either, Isabella."

"Bella," I automatically corrected, even though my full name sounded better than ever coming from his mouth.

"Bella," he said as if to try it out. "I like it. It suits you."

Those two red spots appeared again, and I cursed my blushing. I actually cursed myself as well because I'd promised myself that I would at least try to stay emotionally detached. That did not even last for ten minutes. I was already acting like a teenager with a crush. Hell, I was twenty-six for crying out loud, and it was time I calmed down and acted my age.

I needed to think ahead of the consequences that would occur if anything were to happen between Edward and me.

I wanted to roll my eyes at myself. I thought about it as if it were a given that something would happen if I allowed it. I didn't even know if Edward was attracted to me as well, and for my sanity's sake, I wasn't even going to try to find out.

I looked at Edward and saw that he was studying me with a peculiar expression on his face. I frowned at him in question.

"You do that a lot," was his answer, and I only felt more confused. Did what a lot?

"What?"

"Disappear into your own head. It's like you're always weighing up the pros and cons of everything you do."

I laughed in order to hide the shock I felt that he could already read me better than some of my friends back home and he had only been in my company for fifteen minutes, tops.

"You've known me for about fifteen minutes, and you're already talking about me as if we've known each other for months. You haven't even asked me the obligatory three questions yet," I said and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm good at reading people. I don't need inane questions like that, but alright. Give me a short summary of Isabella Swan."

I felt a surge of nausea when I heard the almost arrogant tone of his voice when he said that. He still had that easygoing smile on his face, but apparently, his ability to read people was something he took a lot of pride in, more so than his music, and it unnerved me. Did that mean that he would constantly analyze me?

I did not show my unease though. "Fine, my full name is Isabella Marie Swan. I am from Seattle, and my favorite pastime is to do shit with my best friend. I am twenty-six, and, obviously, single."

He frowned in confusion. "Why would it be obvious that you're single? You're a very attractive young woman." A thrill went through me when he said that, but I didn't interrupt. "I would have guessed that you already were in a relationship."

"I am here, aren't I?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, so?"

I sighed. "If I'd had the ability to maintain a hold on the guys I've been able to snatch up, I wouldn't be here. Why would you think otherwise?" I thought it was an obvious thing that everyone in this program was single. Weren't they? Or was that just another one of my assumptions of this place?

"It's not uncommon for the students to already have boyfriends and girlfriends. Some come here because they want to know how to save their relationships or simply make them better."

"Well, now you've piqued my interest. You sure know lot about this program. How come?"

It was Edward's turn to blush, and I was glad to see it. A real douchebag wouldn't let his embarrassment show like that. Maybe I'd actually been lucky this time.

"This is not my first year as a volunteer here," he admitted lowly.

I didn't know if it was cruel of me to enjoy his embarrassment just a little bit, but I couldn't let it go. Instead, I pushed. "Now you have to tell me more!"

"I'd rather not." I frowned, but he continued before I could say anything. "At least not for the moment." He looked at me with thoughtful expression. "I find you very easy to talk to, and since we're going to be _'boyfriend and girlfriend'_ for a year, I have no doubt that you'll know everything about me, sooner or later."

We were quiet for a while as I contemplated what he said. I hadn't thought about the fact how well Edward and I would probably get to know each other. I was glad I had been paired with someone that I obviously had great chemistry with. I couldn't even imagine how it would have been had we not been compatible.

I broke the rather comfortable silence when a thought entered my head. "Mrs. Cullen said that she hasn't had a single student that didn't gain anything here." Edward gazed at me while he tried to figure out where I was going with my statement. "So that means that they've gained knowledge, experience, and friends…" I met Edward's gaze as I said the last part. "Maybe even…love?"

He smiled. "Most of the students figure it out after half the program. You're the first that's understood it during the first day."

"Are you saying that this place is, in fact, some kind of matchmaking academy?" I asked with narrowed eyes. What the fuck had I gotten myself into?

Edward took a deep breath as he thought of how to explain it. He could clearly see that I was upset. "It's not the program's real intention. It's really about understanding the opposite sex better, but it doesn't mean that people haven't been affected by the methods that are used here."

Edward looked at his watch and told us that we needed to head back to the auditorium since our half hour was now up.

"So if you knew all of this, how come you decided to volunteer again?"

He gave me a playful smile. "That's a story I'm saving for a later occasion."

We entered the building again, and even though we continued talking with ease, I couldn't shake the feeling that me being paired with Edward wasn't as much of a coincidence as I'd first thought.

* * *

**A/N: **How many of you noticed how well Edward dodged some of her questions? ;-) Why do you think he didn't answer them? And when and why was he a volunteer before? :-P

Review and you'll make an author smile and motivate her to write the upcoming chapters faster :-D


	6. Chapter 6 The Assignment

**A/N: **We're progressing :-) Still just the beginning, though :-D

Special thanks go to my beta **Chandrakanta. **Without her, this story would be filled with irritating mistakes x)

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**CHAPTER 6 THE ASSIGNMENT**

* * *

"Hey, Bella! Wake up, we've got an assignment," Jessica called from somewhere in the suite.

I groaned and rolled over on my other side. I didn't want to get up, and especially not because of an assignment.

"You've got five seconds and then I'll pour cold water over you," the less enthusiastic voice of Leah said right next to me. I cracked one eye open and saw Leah holding a container on the verge of spilling directly over my face.

I quickly rolled back to the other side and flew out of the bed. I narrowed my eyes at Leah's pleased smirk. "You're quite sadistic, aren't you?"

"Only when necessary," she replied and placed the container on my nightstand. "Now, come on, before Stanley explodes with excitement out there." She left the bedroom and I huffed with irritation before I followed.

During the two days that had passed since I came here, we had been told by our dear headmistress that we were to get to know our new roommates. After that, the program would start.

I had certainly gotten to know my roommates.

Jessica Stanley was, as I had expected after our introduction, a very nice girl. She was twenty-two and loved gossip but never started the gossip herself. She was too afraid to hurt anyone if the gossip turned out to be false. She got excited over the smallest of things, and she was annoyingly positive. She was also _very_ chatty, something that made me hate that the three of us shared one huge bedroom with three twin beds.

As I said, Jessica was a nice, sweet girl, but she seriously needed to shut up on occasion.

Leah Clearwater was, not the complete opposite, but she was too much of a Negative Nelly for us to really get along. In other words, we were too alike.

I didn't care about the old saying, "Birds of a feather flock together." Leah and I clearly proved that it wasn't true because we had the same taste in most aspects, but for some reason, I couldn't stand her.

She was twenty-five, and she was Native-American, although what tribe she belonged to had been lost in her family's history several years back in the past.

The woman she'd been sat with in the auditorium, Emily Young, wasn't an old acquaintance as I'd thought. It had just happened that they got talking the day before and became instant friends.

In the "living room," Jessica stood in front of the iPad that was rigged up on the wall by the front door. This was how we got our assignments.

Each student had received a user name and password, and every morning we were supposed to log in to check for assignments.

The program didn't have a firm schedule, so that was why they had this system. It made it easier for everyone involved.

"So, what's the assignment?" I asked while walking up behind Jessica.

"'_First impressions can be tough. They're not always the most important, but they surely decide whether you make it or break it for the chance of getting that second look._

_You've got two hours to prepare for your "first date" in room 105._

_Prof. G. Martin and Prof. K. Martin'_"

Jessica turned around after she was done reading. "Oh my god! Two hours? That's barely enough time." She instantly ran to the bedroom while screaming that she called for the first chance in the bathroom.

Leah and I exchanged looks before sharing a small smile and shaking our heads at Jessica's antics.

Two hours was more than enough. I could get ready in forty minutes if that was necessary. All I needed was to find some nice clothes, brush my hair, and maybe fancy up my usual makeup a bit, but not more than that.

Since I was a waxer, I didn't need to shave my legs, so that would save me a lot of time. I would just take a quick shower when Jessica was done, but I would have to blow-dry the insane amount of hair I had on my head or it would look like a bird's nest.

While Jessica was locked into the bathroom, I started to go through my wardrobe. Leah sat in front of one of the makeup mirrors and applied a citrus smelling cream on her face and neck before applying mascara on her lashes.

"Aren't you going to shower?" I asked her. I knew that this wasn't technically a real first date, but it did not mean that I wasn't going to pretend that it was, and I would always shower before a first date.

"I showered while you and Stanley were still asleep. You know that I'm a morning person."

Leah had a lifestyle that I both envied and knew that I wouldn't be able to maintain myself.

She got up at six each morning to yoga before her breakfast which always consisted of the same oatmeal with fresh berries and cinnamon. After that, she sometimes took a shower, some days she showered at night, where she only used natural products.

By that time, Jessica would wake up and instantly walk to the iPad to check for assignments.

They would wake me up and here we were.

When I'd laid out the skirt and top I planned to wear, I went into the kitchen to eat breakfast. I made sure to make some for Jessica as well since I knew she wouldn't give breakfast a single thought before one of us reminded her.

Since she was four years younger than me, it felt a bit like having a little sister.

Fifty minutes until we had to be down in the classroom, Jessica still hadn't emerged from the bathroom, so I knocked on the door. I needed to take a shower as well, and Jessica hadn't even chosen what clothes she was going to wear.

"_What?" _I heard her through the door.

"We have fifty minutes, Jessica, and I need to shower."

"_FIFTY!?"_ I covered my ears to prevent the ear damage that her scream could have caused even through the door.

"Yes, fifty, so get your ass out of there."

I heard the lock rattle and took a step back just in time to dodge the door before it broke my nose. "Jesus, Jessica! Take it easy, will you!" I called after her as she ran toward the bedroom in only a towel. That girl took this assignment way too seriously.

I grabbed my own towel and made my way into the bathroom. I gasped in shock when I saw the mess in there. Opened bottles and containers with creams and lotions and various other items were strewn everywhere. There were makeup spots in the sink and a wet, slimy ball of hair by the shower drain.

If there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was a messy and disgusting grown-up woman. "Jessica! If you value your life, you'll clean up in here before we have to go!" I yelled in her direction.

"What!? Bella, I don't have time to clean! I'll just do it when we get back!" she yelled back at me.

"By that time, this shit will be all dried in. I'm gonna take a quick shower, but afterwards, you're so cleaning in here."

Jessica emerged from the bedroom and stared at me with unbelieving eyes. "You can't be serious. I'll ruin my outfit." She made a gesture to the beige dress she was wearing and I rolled my eyes.

"You should have thought about that before you made a mess. Put something big over it while you clean, and that's my final word."

I heard Jessica huff and mumble something under her breath before I closed the door to the bathroom and took that shower.

Sadly, as I often did when I showered, I lost track of time since the hot water felt so good on my body, and when I glanced at the clock on my cell, it was my turn to make a run for it toward the bedroom. I had twenty minutes to dry my hair, brush it, put on makeup, get dressed, and go down to the classroom.

The stress made my heart leap up into my throat and my hands shook as I hurriedly put on the skirt and top I'd chosen to wear.

Leah was lying on her back, playing with her phone while Jessica and I were putting the finishing touches on our makeup, when there was a knock on our door.

The three of us frowned at each other since we had no idea who that could be.

We walked to the door together, and when I opened the door, I found Edward, Jacob Black, and Benjamin Wright, Jessica's volunteer, standing outside with their hands casually in their pockets as if it were a given that they would stand outside of our door.

"What are you guys doing here?" Leah asked. We stepped to the side to allow the guys to come inside.

"We are here to pick you up and escort you to room 105," Benjamin replied with a smile. He was a dark-haired, incredibly cheery guy of medium height. Jessica had told us that he was born here in the states, but his parents were from Egypt where his grandparents still lived.

"Why? We could have gone down ourselves," I said and stared incredulously at what I first thought was a bouquet of flowers that turned out to be just one that Edward offered me. It was a pink flower that I had never seen before.

"If this had been a real date, it would have been more than right for us to pick you up and take you to the restaurant," Jacob explained and offered Leah his arm. She rolled her eyes at him but linked her arm through his anyway.

Benjamin did the same with Jessica and the two couples left the suite. I looked at Edward and he winked at me before he did a ridiculous kind of low bow in front of me. "Milady," he said with a horrible imitation of a medieval accent. "It would honor me immensely if you were to allow me to escort you to room 105."

I snorted unattractively and shook my head before I accepted his offer and placed my hand around his arm. "Well, since you insist, my lord," I replied. Edward looked delighted that I played along and gave me a radiant smile.

Even though we were in a school, I made sure to lock the door before we made our way downstairs.

While we walked, I studied the flower he had given me. "I've never seen a flower like this before," I said. "Why did you choose this one?"

"It's a coast rhododendron: the flower of your state. Since I don't really know you yet, I went with a safe choice."

I was impressed. I had received flowers from guys before, but never with this much thought behind them.

"You call the flower of my state a 'safe choice'? Other guys would have gone with roses or tulips."

Edward shook his head while he wrinkled his nose. "Those flowers are for those without knowledge and the ones that hope of getting laid later in the night."

"And flowers with meaning behind them?" I waved the flower in front of his face.

"When a guy makes an effort and tries to communicate with flowers, now that's a keeper. He shows that he's prepared and that he wants more from you than for you to warm his bed that night."

"Oh, really? I would say that it's the other way around." A small smile began to form on Edward's lips. It was obvious he thought it was entertaining when I didn't just go with what he said.

"And why is that?" he asked, still with the small smile etched on his face.

"A guy that buys roses or tulips is, to me, someone who thought about you before the date but since he's no expert on flowers, he goes with the so-called 'safe choice', while a guy that buys flowers like these wants to impress, make the woman melt with his knowledge of flora and fauna."

I smiled, pleased with my conclusion. Edward, however, wasn't done yet.

"While I see your point, Miss Swan, let me ask you a question. Let's say that you went out on a date with both of these guys. Both of them want a second date, which one would you choose? The roses that are common and disappear in the crowd, or the coast rhododendron?"

"I didn't know that you were one of the choices, Mr. Masen." He left that one completely open for me, and I took the opportunity.

Edward chuckled. "You're very dangerous, Bella. Did you know that?"

Even though I had loved it when he used my full name that first time, a thrill went through me when he called me Bella. "Yeah? How come?"

He gave me his full attention and the intensity of his look made my insides flutter. "With each meeting, you make me like you more and more. If you continue like this, I might not let you go by the end of this program."

* * *

**A/N: **So, how many believes that Edward will charm the pants off of Bella?

And also, if the choice that Edward gave Bella was yours, which guy would you choose? Just out of curiosity x)

See ya next Monday!


	7. Chapter 7 The Class

**A/N: **So we left ExB on their way to class in the last chapter :-) Let's see what happens in class, shall we? :-)

Special thanks go to my beta **Chandrakanta. **Without her, this story would be filled with irritating mistakes x)

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**CHAPTER 7 THE CLASS**

* * *

When Edward and I entered classroom 105, we were at least ten minutes late, but casting one look around the room made it obvious that we weren't the only ones.

The strange part was that it was half of the female volunteers that were missing. A few of them sat next to their students. I recognized the bleached blonde—I think her name was Lauren—as well as the girl with auburn hair and brown eyes, the one that Jacob Black cast glances on during the first day. I couldn't remember the names of the remaining two, but Riley Biers and Ben Cheney sat next to them.

I heard Edward sigh and shake his head as if he was disappointed. I didn't comment on it because it was pretty obvious that, whatever it was, it bothered him.

I think I even heard him mutter something that sounded like "what's happened to common courtesy" but that didn't make any sense, until Mr. Martin explained it to us all.

"As you've probably noticed, we're missing a few of the volunteers," he began.

I sat next to the dark-skinned guy, Tyler, and so I heard him mumble, "Girls and their makeup," underneath his breath. I would have agreed with him otherwise, but it didn't really add up that all of the missing girls were volunteers. There was something going on.

Mr. Martin continued. "The reason behind this is because the first error of a first date has been made."

Every student immediately began looking around to see if it was any of them that had made the mistake. When I joined them, Edward leaned in and whispered in my ear. "Don't worry. It's not you."

"How do you know?" I whispered back. I didn't exactly aspire to be the perfect student in this program, but that didn't mean that I wanted to be the first to make a mistake.

Edward didn't reply. He just nodded with his head toward Mr. Martin, so I returned my attention to him.

With a patient smile, Mr. Martin turned toward the four guys that missed their volunteers. "There is an unwritten rule that, if nothing else has been decided, a guy should go to his date's home and pick her up. Otherwise, it can cause a very awkward situation when the date shows up almost an hour late because she finally realized that she needs to get to the meeting place on her own, and she just spent forty minutes waiting for someone who never showed."

The four guys all blushed as if on cue, and I had to contain my laughter. It looked rather comical when they all stood up from their chairs and scrambled toward the door.

"Just sit back down. My wife's already on her way with the girls. They'll be here shortly."

When the door to the classroom opened and the missing girls filed in, the guys squirmed in their chairs, but only one of them received the death glare. James Hunter cowered in his seat when his volunteer glared angrily at him before she took her seat beside him.

Mr. Martin clasped his hands in front of himself while Mrs. Martin stood next to him with a notebook pressed against her chest.

"Now that all of us are here, let's begin."

The next ninety minutes that passed was filled with discussions about how a first date should go. We painted up dream-dates and revealed the worst dates of our lives.

When it was my turn, I didn't hesitate in telling everybody about my last lunch date with George, the one on which he broke up with me. In the end, everyone in the classroom gaped at me as if they couldn't believe what I'd just told them. I hadn't held anything back and listed everything George thought was wrong with me.

I cast a glance in Edward's direction and saw him looking just as distraught as everybody else, but there was something in his expression that was slightly off. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew that it was there.

After that, Mr. and Mrs. Martin went through a sort of "The Do's and Don'ts" of a first date. Most of it was pretty basic and stuff you would know if you only used your logical sense, but there was one in particular that made me squirm a bit in my seat.

"Don't forget the spark! If you don't feel anything at all for the person that you're on a date with, don't try to force it. If it's there, good, but if it's not, maybe you should reconsider a second date." I tried to not let that one get to me, but it did hit very close to home.

I remembered all too clearly how I'd felt absolutely nothing for George during our first dates. I had tried to force an attraction in some twisted hope of finally getting some acceptance from my mother if I chose a guy she approved of.

Thinking of my mother, or the egg donor as I referred to her in my head, caused me to clench my teeth and my breathing became shallower, which did not go unnoticed by Edward. He turned his head and looked at me questioningly. He started to open his mouth in preparation of asking me what was wrong, but before he had the time, Mr. Martin demanded our attention.

"For the next part of this class, each couple will receive a location where your 'first date' will take place. Afterwards, either my wife or I will sit down with each of you and discuss the day."

Mrs. Martin went around the classroom and gave each volunteer a slip of paper. When Edward unfolded ours, I leaned toward him so that I could read what was written, but he quickly placed it in his pocket when he'd read it.

I frowned at him. "Hey! Am I not allowed to see the location?" I asked.

Edward remained with his eyes directed toward the front while he answered. "I like to surprise, Bella. You'll have to get used to that if you're going to be my girlfriend." The smile that graced his lips was probably supposed to amuse me, maybe even make me giggle like some girls did when a guy charmed them, but it only annoyed me.

"I'm not your girlfriend for real, and I hate surprises. I've come to despise them since my experience has told me that they're no good. Just give me the location." I held my hand out toward him, but he ignored it.

"Just humor me, Bella. I want to make this date fun for you."

"Why should I humor you? It's not a real date. It's an assignment, so you don't actually have to feel any pressure," I stubbornly replied.

Edward turned his head and locked his intense green eyes with mine. I instantly felt stupid for fighting him and sighed in defeat, but a tingling in the back of my mind warned me to be careful. The glint in Edward's eyes told me that he knew exactly what his eyes could do to a person, and he wasn't afraid to use it to get what he wanted.

"Thank you," he said quietly even though I hadn't given in verbally.

I rolled my eyes and turned away from him with a huff. I wasn't going to hide the fact that I was irritated with him.

When we were allowed to leave, Edward led me toward the stairs that went up to the second and third floor, which was where we had our rooms.

I had, although silently and unwillingly, agreed to let him surprise me with the location, but I really hoped that this surprise location wasn't his room. That would be the tackiest thing I would ever experience.

However, he continued up to the third floor and to my own room. I raised an eyebrow in question and he chuckled. "We're going outside of the school's premises. I thought you would want to get your jacket."

He gestured for me to go inside and brought a phone out of his pocket. "I'll just call Seth and tell him to drive my car to the entrance."

Once downstairs again, my jacket folded over my arm since it was too hot outside to have it on, we walked through the entrance doors just in time to see Seth park a sleek, black Mercedes-Benz convertible at the bottom of the stairs. I had no idea what model it was, but one thing was for sure, it did not fit the image I'd created of Edward since I met him.

I would have expected a sturdy Hyundai or maybe a smaller Saab. Not a snobby rich-kid car like a Mercedes convertible.

"_That's_ your car?" I asked incredulously. My voice was colored with the shock that still lingered in my mind.

"It sure is. She's my pride. I worked my ass off from the moment I turned sixteen to afford her," he said and it was evident in his tone that he truly loved this car.

I immediately felt guilty for instantly believing that you had to be rich and snobby for owning a car like that. I didn't know the background of how he bought it, or why he chose that car, so I had no right to judge.

I had just been so shocked, because the sight of the car had caused an epiphany of sorts to enter my brain. I'd realized how little I actually knew of Edward, how inaccurate the image of him I had was.

We had only known each other for a little over two days, but during that time, I had revealed quite a lot about myself while I knew nothing of him.

He didn't know about my background story, but he knew almost everything about my personality, which was a hundred times more intimate than the shallow knowledge of where you grew up.

Edward pulled me out of my thoughts by escorting me to the passenger seat.

I didn't say anything as he started the car and drove out through the gates, not even when he turned in the direction of the city, which I hadn't had a chance to really see when I drove through it toward the school.

It must have worried Edward because he continuously cast glances in my direction.

Eventually he broke the silence. "Is everything alright? You're unusually quiet."

I blinked a few times to rid myself of the troublesome thoughts. They were probably nothing anyway. I'd known from that first day that Edward was a secretive person, but he had also told me that I would eventually know everything about him, so just because I didn't know anything after two days didn't mean that I wouldn't get to learn a thing or two on this date that we were supposed to be having.

"Have I told you that you look very nice today?" he tried again when my response didn't come.

The simplicity of the compliment caused me to meet his eyes. "Thank you," I said sincerely. I had never received a compliment like that from George, and I appreciated it. It felt very nice.

Edward smiled and turned his attention back to the road. "Now that I have your attention, would you be so kind and tell me what's wrong?"

I shrugged. "Nothing's wrong."

"Then how come I don't believe you?"

"Maybe because you want to be the knight in shining armor and save my day," I retorted. His implication that he knew me so well that he could tell when something bothered me perturbed me.

There was a few seconds of silence apart from the purring of the car's engine, and then Edward started to laugh. It wasn't one of his low chuckles either. It was a genuine, deep-in-the-stomach laugh that made me want to laugh along with him because it was so contagious.

"You amaze me, Bella. You have to be the most unpredictable girl I've ever come across."

I tried to determine if it was a good or bad thing, but I couldn't, so I just asked him instead.

"Definitely a good thing."

I heard a buzz and saw Edward reach into his pocket after his phone. He must have received a text for he looked at the screen for a few seconds before putting the phone back into his pocket.

His expression changed radically after reading the text. The open, happy one was replaced with an indifferent and controlled look. His body had stiffened and his hands had tightened on the wheel.

Now it was my turn to ask what was wrong.

"Nothing important enough to let it ruin our time together," Edward answered. "We're here." He put the car in park and I turned my head to look out the window.

* * *

**A/N: **Who texted Edward, and why did he get upset? :-)

I know all of you wanted this chapter to be the date, but you'll have to be patient. It's the next chapter, I promise :-D

See ya next week!


	8. Chapter 8 The First Date

**A/N: **This is the chapter many of you have been waiting for :-) I hope it will satisfy you :-D

Special thanks go to my beta **Chandrakanta. **She's one of the best I've had :-D

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**CHAPTER 8 THE "FIRST DATE"**

I let out a small laugh when I saw the sign over the entrance. Feeling both amused and excited, I turned to Edward.

"Are you serious?"

"I wasn't the one that chose the location, but I have to admit that it will be fun." He was looking out through the windshield, but when he met my gaze and saw the light in it, he smiled widely. "You really like it?"

"Are you kidding me? I love going to places like this, but I haven't been to one in years."

"Well, then let's get going." He climbed out of the car and hurried around to my side, but I had already opened the door. It did not stop him from offering his hand and help me out though.

We walked side by side to the entrance and the ticket booth, where we were greeted by a girl that couldn't have been older than nineteen.

"Welcome to The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. How can I help you?" the girl asked with a smile that looked genuine, but was probably plastered on her face after hours of sitting in that booth. I had always felt sorry for those that worked in the service business. I remembered my receptionist position back home, and let me tell you, it's always the receptionist that gets the crap for something the higher powers had done wrong.

Edward leaned forward toward the Plexiglas so that the girl would be able to hear him better. "Yes, our tickets are pre-booked. They should be underneath the name of Mrs. E. Cullen from The PPP Academy."

"One second, and I'll check that, sir." The girl reached out for a clipboard and searched through the papers until she found what she was looking for. "Yes, here it is. Two Day tickets pre-booked." She reached up and grabbed something from a box above her. It was two regular paper tickets with the zoo's logo on it.

After stamping them, she offered them to Edward. "You'll have access to the entire zoo and aquarium for the day. Only give your name by every entrance and you should be fine."

"Thank you," Edward said and accepted the tickets.

"Have a pleasant day." We left the line that had formed behind us and went through the gates. The first thing we saw was a huge fountain with a globe sculpture made out of steel in the middle. I felt my excitement grow with every second. I had never been to this particular zoo before, but I remembered when Dad, Nana, and Pops took me to watch all the animals when I was a kid. I'd loved it, and I was very fond of those memories. This "date" would be like a small trip down memory lane.

I probably acted a lot like a child as we walked around the park and studied all of the animals. I got excited at seeing the flamingos, I aahed at seeing the polar bears play in the cold water of their pools, and I bravely walked all the way up to the fence to study the alligators since they were still at a safe distance.

At first, Edward and I simply enjoyed strolling around in the park and looking at all the animals, but as time wound on, I became aware of the fact that we weren't acting out our date, so when we made our way toward the aquarium, I brought it up.

"Aren't people supposed to get to know each other on a date?"

"That's usually what dates are for, yes," Edward replied with an amused smile.

"Well, then tell me more about you. I don't know a whole lot apart from the fact that you're a musician and grew up in Chicago. As a matter of fact, I don't even know how old you are."

"What do you want to know?"

I thought about it for a minute and then smiled. "Well, since this is supposed to be a first date, tell me about your likes and dislikes. Do you have a job at home? Any siblings? Things like that."

"Ah, the typical questions of a first date," he said and rubbed his neck while he thought about his answers. "You already know about my interest for music, but that's more of a hobby." He looked slightly torn, as if he had absolutely no idea what to say. "It's hard to explain my likes and dislikes. I never really think about them until they're presented to me. The only thing that comes to mind right now is that I hate beans."

I started to laugh at the unexpected answer and it didn't take long for Edward to join in.

Our conversation continued like that. Edward told me that he was currently unemployed back home in Chicago, that he had left his old job to focus on his music. He didn't have any siblings, but he told me about his parents.

"I am a younger, male version of my mother. She looks exactly like me with less stubble."

I couldn't remember the last time I had laughed as much as I did when I talked with Edward. He was, sometimes, just as crazy as I was, and I enjoyed it immensely. Although, it did make me miss my Sissy, even though we'd talked every night since I arrived.

"What about you? I feel like I've done all the talking for the last hour and a half," Edward said when we sat down to grab some junk food to eat.

"I don't mind. I like hearing you talk. You get so animated when you explain something," I said and started to pull out my wallet.

"Oh no, forget it! I'm paying today."

I rolled my eyes. "I can pay for my own hot dog, Edward. It won't ruin me."

"It's not about that. I want to pay. Please?"

He stared at me with those green eyes and I sighed deeply before putting down my wallet again. I made a gesture for him to go on and buy the hot dogs, but didn't say anything. If he absolutely insisted on paying, I wasn't going to be difficult.

When he returned with our food, I smiled and shook my head at his silliness. He raised his eyebrows, challenging me to comment, so I refrained from it.

"Now, it's your turn."

I took a big bite of my hot dog since I was pretty hungry at this point. I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. I chewed slowly while I thought about what I would say.

When I finally swallowed, my eyes met Edward's and he was looking at me with a stunned expression.

"What?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "Nothing. I've just never met a girl that eats like you before." He was smiling, so I knew that he didn't really care about how I ate, but his comment made me stiffen. It had been one of the things George said I embarrassed him with, and even though I felt nothing but relief to be rid of that ass, it still hurt me to realize that maybe he had been right. Maybe I did eat like an animal.

The thought made me blush.

"Why are you blushing?" Edward asked, but I shrugged away his question. I didn't want to answer that.

"I worked as a receptionist at a stockbroker's office in Seattle before I came here," I said in an attempt to change the subject. Luckily, it distracted Edward, and my blushing was soon forgotten.

"I get the feeling that it wasn't your dream job."

I scoffed. "You got that right. It was just a stop along the way. I still don't know what I want to do, but I want it to be something meaningful. Like what my dad does."

"What does your dad do?"

"He's the Chief of Seattle PD," I said proudly. I was truly proud of my dad. He had gotten where he was with hard work, and I admired him so much.

Edward's eyes widened. "Whoa, I just got even more scared of you."

I frowned in confusion. "Why?"

"Because this means that your dad would probably put a bullet in me if I did something wrong toward you, and he would be able to make the evidence of my murder disappear."

I smiled. "How lucky for you that this isn't a real relationship then." I tried to ignore the longing inside me that screamed that it wanted nothing more than for this to be real.

Edward finished his hot dog, threw the wrapping in the nearest trashcan, and continued his query. "How about siblings?"

"An only child, but my best friend is like my sister. In fact, we're probably closer than sisters. We share everything with each other. She's my rock."

"It must be great to have someone like that." I thought I detected a hint of longing in his voice.

"You don't?" I asked carefully. I didn't want to make him sad by causing him to think about it, but it sounded so lonely to not have someone you could trust like I had Becca. I probably wouldn't have been able to live without her.

Edward shook his head. "No. I used to, when I was younger. But he moved away four years ago when his wife said that she didn't want to raise their children in Chicago, and we just lost touch."

In that moment, I realized that I still didn't know how old Edward was. We were on our way to the reptile house by now, and we had been walking around in the park for at least two and a half hours. How the subject had not been brought up yet, I couldn't answer,

"Was he older than you?"

Edward shook his head. "No, why do you ask?"

I shrugged. "It sounds like he was older since he was married with children." Becca was married, but had only been for six months now. Edward said that his friend had been married and had children, plural, four years ago.

Of course, they could have been young parents.

Edward didn't say anything for a while, so I decided that it was my task to get his age out of him. I was curious, because he acted very mature, but his clothes indicated that he couldn't be many years over twenty.

However, when I asked, Edward didn't answer right away.

"Does my age really matter?" he eventually asked.

I dramatically gasped and placed my hands over my mouth in a theatrical gesture, hoping to maintain the playful feel our date had had so far. "Oh no, don't tell me you're barely twenty. I'd rather not be a cougar."

"Don't worry about that. You would definitely not be a cougar by being with me. I'm actually one of the older volunteers in the program," he replied seriously to my mocking.

"Are you gonna make me take a guess?"

"I'm twenty-nine."

"Really?" I said before I had time to stop myself. My hand flew up to my mouth and I blushed with embarrassment. The truth was that I'd genuinely believed that Edward was, at the most, one year older than me. He really didn't look like he was twenty-nine, and I'd just revealed that inner thought by blurting out my words without thinking. I waited with bated breath to see if he would take it as a compliment or an insult.

Edward shocked me by gently smiling at me. "If I was able to fool you, it means I did a good job," he said, and I frowned in confusion. I had no idea what he meant with that statement, but he continued before I could ask. "I don't usually dress this way." He made a gesture towards his worn jeans and simple button down. It was slightly dressier than what he'd worn that first day, but only barely. He didn't have the beanie on, but his hair was in a stylish mess that had only strengthened my belief in his younger age.

"I told you that I've been in the program before, and as you've probably noticed, most of the volunteers are in their early twenties. You are the only one, apart from the professors and Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, who knows that this isn't my first time. I dress this way to blend in with the rest of them; play the part, so to speak."

It was logical, what he said, but he was only making me more curious about why he seemed so embarrassed about having been a part of the program before.

"Why do you want to hide?"

He shrugged. "It was easier than to explain the story behind my previous involvement with the school."

"Which you still haven't told me," I said carefully. I could feel that this was one of those moments when I really should refrain from making a joke, and so I kept it on a serious note.

"But I will, eventually. Not today, though. I want us to know each other better before I tell you about my past." Edward wasn't looking at me, and it felt like he was hiding his face from me, kind of as if he didn't want me to see something particular in his expression.

"The past shapes the person you are in the present, Edward. How will we get to know each other if we don't know what made us into who we are today?"

"The past shouldn't really matter." Edward frowned, and for a moment, he actually looked irritated with me. He turned his eyes at me and what I saw made something twist inside of me. His eyes weren't the soft, but still intense, green I'd gotten used to in the short time I'd known him. They were hard and glimmering. "The fact still remains that I am who I am. Who cares about how I got here?" he continued, completely unaware that I was almost cowering away from him. I didn't like to admit it, but I was actually a bit afraid of Edward in that second.

However, Edward looked away from me again, took a deep breath and once again became the kind, sweet, and funny guy I was expecting. He smiled at me as if everything was all right, but I was still very uncomfortable. I remained silent as we reached the reptile house and while we strolled around inside to watch the snakes, lizards, and frogs that resided in there.

Edward continued to converse and even though he very much felt my reluctance, he completely ignored it. I knew that he knew why I was uneasy, but it didn't feel like he was giving me space to absorb what had just transpired. It felt more like he hoped it would be forgotten if he didn't bring it up.

Edward was hiding a side from me. I wouldn't have given it much thought if it hadn't been for the feeling in my stomach that told me that the side he was hiding was actually the real him. Every human being had a side they wanted to hide at times, but it shouldn't be so hard to hide that side so that the mask you're maintaining immediately slips whenever you lose control for a second.

I believed that—for the short moment when Edward's eyes had turned hard and cold—that had been the first glimpse I got of the real Edward.

Not for the first time since I arrived in Ohio did the thought, "what have I gotten myself into" pass through my head.

**A/N: **What is it that Edward's hiding, and what's up with his mood swings? :-O Find out next week :-D


	9. Chapter 9 The Hidden Truth

**A/N: **Here comes the twist I've been talking about for a while ;-)

Special thanks go to my beta **Chandrakanta. **She always makes sure that my chapters get done on time :-D

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**CHAPTER 9 THE HIDDEN TRUTH**

* * *

The steps echoed in the empty marble hallway as he made his way toward the office at the very end of the first floor.

He didn't even bother to knock on the door. Instead, he let himself in and when the occupant behind the desk raised her eyebrow at him, he challenged her with a look of his own.

Esme Cullen sighed and put the papers she'd had in her hand down on the tabletop. The glasses she had been wearing were taken off and placed over them.

"It was about time. I was beginning to think that you wouldn't show up," she said with a hint of annoyance coloring her tone.

"I was occupied with an assignment _your_ professors gave me. I couldn't just leave. It would have caused suspicion," he replied with poison lacing his smooth voice.

The pair stared at each other angrily until Esme directed her eyes in a different direction and sighed with frustration. "I keep wondering why I chose you to do this for me."

"Because I'm the best," he said arrogantly and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. He crossed his legs and smirked at the older woman.

"You're also my unemployed and infuriating nephew. Your father told me that you needed money."

"Why do you and Dad always discuss my life? It doesn't concern you! I can take care of myself."

"Apparently not, since you don't have a job."

"That's not my fault. My previous employers didn't comprehend the potential of my skills."

"If you keep going like this, you'll be broke soon."

"I have money!"

"For the moment, yes, but with your expensive lifestyle, what will you do when that trust fund of yours runs dry?"

He smiled at her. "If you continue giving me these cases, I'll be fine."

Esme closed her eyes and supported her head with her hand on her forehead. "I'm sorry to say this, Edward, but this will be your last case."

Edward shot up from his seat and glared at his aunt. "What? Why?"

"You're getting too old. Most of my students are in their early twenties. They won't want a guy that's past thirty. You already have to dress younger to hide your age. Soon, your age will show on your face."

Edward grabbed handfuls of his hair and pulled. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He opened his mouth to speak but Esme continued.

"It's not just me who's putting a stop to this. Your father told me that he wants me to stop, and I respect my brother. He says that you need to grow up and become more independent."

Edward scoffed at that and then fell silent.

Neither of them said anything for quite a while. Eventually, he fell down into his chair again. "Just forget it. Why did you want me to come here anyway? I doubt it was to give me a lesson on how to be an adult."

Esme waited another few seconds to evaluate if she should give her nephew the information she'd recently received. She decided that he was professional enough to take the information and use it in the most beneficial of ways.

"Renée called. Apparently, Rebecca Walters, Isabella's best friend, came over last night while Charles was on the phone with Isabella. Charles gave the phone to her and they talked for quite a while. Renée heard the entire conversation through the phone in their office. Isabella talked a lot about you."

A grin started to spread on Edward's face. It looked nothing like the crooked smiles he'd given Isabella the day before on their date. "Oh, really? And what did she say?"

Esme looked down at the papers on her desk to read from the notes she'd taken during her conversation with Renée. "She's physically attracted to you, and she thinks you're charming, but there's something that concerns her. She doesn't know what, but she doesn't trust you." She looked up at him. "That's a direct quote from Isabella to her best friend. Would you care to explain what she meant by that?"

Edward shrugged. "My act might have accidentally slipped on occasion. Nothing major. She'll forget about it before our next meeting."

Esme shook her head disappointedly. "I know you're good at what you do, Edward, but don't get arrogant. Not with this case. It's not like the others. Isabella is a lot more intuitive."

"And I supposed your old BFF told you that," he retorted with sarcasm. It was no secret to him that the relationship between Isabella and her mother was rocky. He doubted Renée knew the real young woman she had given birth to.

"Renée might not have the best relationship with her daughter, but nobody knows a woman better than her mother."

"Maybe, but believe me when I tell you that I can handle Isabella. From what I've gathered by myself and the information you just gave me, I've already found her Achilles' heel. This will be a piece of cake." Edward smiled widely at Esme before he got up from his seat and made his way toward the door. "See you around, Mrs. Cullen," he said and left the office with confidence in his step.

**¤/PPP\\\¤**

I closed my eyes and tried to shut off my mind in order to relax and get some sleep, but it proved to be difficult. All I could think about was Edward's confusing behavior at the park yesterday.

It had worried me, but when I talked to Becca afterwards she had told me to stop overanalyzing everything. Just because George had treated me like shit on his shoes, it didn't mean that every guy was like that. She had told me to relax and let everything fall into place on its own.

I had tried, but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something bad that Edward was hiding from me. Why else was he so determined with hiding it if it wasn't?

The display on my phone was lit up, soundlessly alerting me to the fact that I had received a text and I checked my inbox. There was one from an unknown number and what it said made me frown.

_Get dressed and open your door. I have a surprise for you._

I doubted the text was really meant for me, so I sent a reply stating that the sender must have the wrong number.

I got another text almost immediately.

_I doubt that, Bella. Just come outside._

Since the sender didn't give me their name, I got curious, but I did have a good suspicion of who it could be. I decided to just do what I was told, so I grabbed my clothes and tiptoed out of the bedroom so that I wouldn't wake up Jessica and Leah while I got dressed.

Out in the living area, I cast a glance at the clock and saw that it was already past midnight. I heard sounds outside of the door, so I knew that the person sending me the texts was outside.

I skipped putting on my shoes and opened the door just a tiny bit to reveal Edward standing outside with an excited grin on his face.

"What are you doing here, Edward? And how did you get my number?" I stage-whispered, casting a glance inside to make sure that I really hadn't woken up my roomies.

"I got your number from your application," he answered in a normal tone, and I shushed him, quickly stepped outside and closing the door in hopes of muting his voice.

"I thought the applications were not accessible to the volunteers," I said and narrowed my eyes at him. I wanted to make it known to him that I didn't fully trust him, and since we had been informed on our first day that the applications were only viewed by Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, it was very suspicious that he had gotten mine.

Edward shrugged. "They're not, but I didn't get to see your application. I asked Mrs. Cullen for your number and she gave it to me after some serious persuasion. If I hadn't participated in the program before, she never would have given it to me, but she trusts me to not use it in the wrong way."

"I would say waking someone up and demanding they come outside after midnight is definitely qualified as misusing it."

"You weren't sleeping," he continued, still with that smile on his face. The smile was open and trust-worthy. He looked so cute, and I really wanted nothing more than to give him my trust, but there was something that stopped me.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"If you had been sleeping, you wouldn't have answered me so quickly."

Nothing he said gave any reason for me to mistrust him. I heard Becca's voice in my head, telling me to relax, so I took a deep breath and pushed it all into the back of my head. She was right after all.

"Fine, but you didn't answer my question about what you are doing here."

His smile widened. "I told you that I had a surprise." He grabbed my hand in his and started to pull me down the hallway, but I went against him.

"Wait, Edward, I don't have my shoes."

He turned around and looked down at my bare feet. "Then go get them. I'll wait right here."

After telling him yesterday that I hated surprises, Edward was well aware of that fact, but he had me curious as to what he had come up with this time, so I went back into my room and quickly got my shoes so that I could put them on outside in the hall. I also grabbed a sweater in case the surprise was outside.

When I walked back out into the hall, I saw Edward standing by the stairs, his hands casually in his pockets while he shifted back and forth on his feet. He was the perfect picture of an open, neutral, at ease guy with nothing in the world weighing him down.

I studied him for a second and that short moment told me everything I needed to know about the guy right now. He wasn't twitchy or impatient. He was just waiting for me so that he could show me his surprise. I felt guilty for suspecting there was something bad going on with Edward. He was just a normal guy, and I needed stop treating him like he was going to betray me in some way. Eventually, he would do something that I interpreted as suspicious and warning bells would go off, but if I tried to see it from an outside perspective I would say that Edward only acted as any guy would if they were pressed for information they weren't willing to give up just yet.

I had known the guy for less than a week, and I needed to give him the benefit of a doubt. He would tell me about his past, he had promised me that, and so I would trust that he would keep his promise.

I made myself known and walked up to Edward, feeling calmer in his presence than I'd felt that first day when he was still like a blank canvas to me.

"All right, show me this surprise of yours," I said when I reached him.

"That's the spirit." He grabbed my hand again and interlinked our fingers. It felt rather intimate and I was about to let go when I felt his grip tighten.

The warmth that radiated from where our skin touched spread through my entire body and settled in my chest. I had never imagined that a simple gesture such as hand holding could make me feel so good.

I knew that my physical attraction to him made me more vulnerable to his sweet gestures and they would affect me more than if I had not felt anything for him. It worried me to a point, but I tried not to think of it. I had promised myself that I wouldn't fall for Edward, but I had to accept that it might be inevitable.

I barely knew him, but there had been instant attraction, and that very rarely happened to me. Although I was cautious, it felt as if I was supposed to let all of this happen because it would eventually lead to something good.

I had never in my entire life connected with another person as I had with Edward. He brought a confidence out of me that I often had to force and sometimes hide behind. With him, it was effortless.

"What has you in such deep thought?" I heard Edward ask and I shook myself out of my thoughts and met his gaze over his shoulder.

I smiled. "Nothing."

He shrugged and continued pulling me behind him.

The further we went, the more curious I got. When he lead me outside into the backyard, I started to walk next to him instead of behind him. He slowed his pace so that we could stroll side by side. The silence between us wasn't uncomfortable, so we did not speak. We simply walked along the stone path that lead to a garden in the eastern corner of the school grounds.

The August air was still warm enough for me to not feel cold in my sweater, even though it was late in the night.

Edward led me out on the grass and that was when I saw it.

A small ball of light resided next to what looked like a picnic blanket. My head whipped toward Edward's and I looked at him questioningly.

He gave me that warm crooked smile of his. "Don't try to deny the fact that I ruined our time together yesterday. It wasn't my intention to let my temper get the best of me. It's just that my past is sensitive, and I acted with self-preservation. I'm so sorry, and I want to make it up to you."

I looked back toward the blanket and I couldn't stop my eyes from tearing up. Once again, Edward showed how sweet and considerate he was; how completely opposite of George he was.

Gently, he pulled me down on the blanket and we lay side by side, studying the clear night's sky.

We kept up small conversation. He told me more about his music, and further down the road we started in on the topic of my mother, which we had not broached yet. My relationship with my mother was not something I liked to talk about, but after my small epiphany in the hall outside of my room, I'd decided that this situation I was in and how it would evolve was entirely up to me. If I wanted Edward to entrust me with his past, I would have to entrust him with mine.

"My mother has always blamed me for how her life was turned upside down, even though it was her rebellious act that created me. When I was a child, I was desperate for her acceptance, but I never received it."

"That's horrible, Bella. Nobody should have to grow up without a mother's affection, much less with one's contempt." Edward was lying on his side and supporting his weight on his elbow and resting his head on his hand.

I shrugged my shoulders the best I could from my position on my back. "My last attempt was George, but that relationship was doomed to fail from the start. It never felt right, and my mother's instant acceptance of him should have told me that, but it felt so good to finally have done something right in her eyes."

I turned my head to the side and looked at Edward. "That was, however, until it all went too far. Soon, Mother started to pick on me, constantly reminding me that I was so lucky to have gotten a man like George."

Edward lowered his gaze and shook his head. "I am so sorry, Bella."

I smiled and looked back up at the sky. "As good as that feels to hear, it's not you who should apologize."

* * *

**A/N: **So Bella will finally let everything just happen, but Oh no! Edward's not the good guy? :-O Oh yes, I went there!

BUT, this is a romance story! So don't abandon me, please!

Later on, more will be revealed about Edward and Esme and how she seems to know Renée

However, the next chapter will be delayed a week. I'm so sorry about that. It's just that my family is coming to visit me and I haven't seen them in four months, so I won't have the time to finish chapter 10 before next Monday. I apologize for that.


	10. Chapter 10 The Start

**A/N: **After two weeks you must be kind of excited :-P

Special thanks go to my beta **Chandrakanta. **The best beta I've ever had :-D

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**CHAPTER 10 THE START**

* * *

"_So how are things going with Mr. Volunteer? Still playing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with you?"_ Becca asked while we were on the phone.

I laughed and stretched out my legs in front of me. I was sitting on a bench in the backyard, soaking up the last of the summer's sun before fall would set in for real. I couldn't believe that I had already been here for a month.

"Things are actually going kind of perfect with Edward. He's just so kind and considerate all the time. Sometimes I wonder if he's even real."

"_Has he told you about his past yet?"_

"No, but I'm not pressuring him either. I'm going to let him tell me in his own time; when he's ready. It's obvious something's happened to him that's very hard to relive. I don't know. Maybe he fell in love here and she left him."

"_I do like your new attitude. You're not so skeptical with new people anymore," _Becca said and I could clearly hear her smile through the phone. _"Maybe this experience is good for you after all."_

"Yeah, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I don't think Renée really knew what she was sending me to. I mean, everyone is really nice, and nobody is of the robotic kind."

"_Then I'm glad for you."_

"Yes, but don't forget that I'm still me. That will never change, Sissy!"

"_And I'm even happier with that! I don't know what I would do if I lost my sister all the way over in Ohio. I believe I would have to get into my car, drive there, and give her a good kick in the ass."_

"I will take you up on that promise. If you ever detect any change in me that does not sound right, you go ahead and do exactly what you just told me."

"_And I always keep my promises."_

"Only one of the reasons for why I love you."

I saw someone approaching in my periphery and I turned my head to see who it was. It was Peter Matthews, one of the other students in the program. He was walking with his hands in his pockets and his head bent down. I don't think he'd seen me yet.

I hadn't really talked to Peter since we got here. I had mostly spent my time with Leah, Jessica, and Edward if I wasn't in class, so I hadn't gotten to know any of the other students yet. But Peter looked really depressed about something, and I decided to help him.

"Hey, Sissy! I need to hang up. There's something I have to do."

"_Okay, talk to you tomorrow, babe!"_

We hung up just in time before Peter passed me.

"Peter? Are you okay?"

He startled and turned to me with wide eyes. He really hadn't seen me while he was walking around in his own little bubble.

"Isabella! Whoa, I didn't see you there."

"Yeah, I noticed, and call me Bella by the way," I said with an amused smile. "Are you okay?" I asked again.

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. Absolutely great!" he replied with a bit too much enthusiasm.

I raised my eyebrow skeptically. "Mhm…Any other lie you want to tell me while you're at it?"

Peter rubbed his neck while looking at everything but me. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

I sighed when I realized that this guy was one of those that wouldn't talk about what bothered him willingly. Normally, I would have shrugged and let the guy go, but I really wanted to help him. We would live at this school together for another eleven months. It wouldn't exactly hurt to try and gain some friends around here.

"I might not know you that well, Peter, but I can tell when something's bothering someone. I'm a good listener and I can give you an outside perspective on your problem," I said seriously. I wanted him to know that I wasn't joking. I patted the bench next to me. "Come on, I won't tell anyone anything of what you tell me, I promise."

Peter hesitated a long time but finally sat down next to me heavily.

**¤/PPP\\\¤**

Edward frowned while he stared at the couple through the window in Esme's office. He was still very much listening to what his aunt was telling him, even though it didn't look that way.

One thing Edward was good at was multitasking and he had no problem with observing Isabella having her conversation with Peter while taking in all the information Esme was spewing out.

This was purely an update meeting. After a month, most clients wanted to see results, but Renée had specifically asked for the changes to be permanent and she was prepared to wait for the duration of the year if that was the necessary time for Isabella to get accustomed to and grow into the "new her" as her mother always referred it to, and therefore Edward hadn't really started with Isabella just yet. He wanted her to trust him completely first so that she wouldn't be suspicious when he started to reprogram her.

"Edward, did you hear anything I just said?" Esme said from behind him.

"Of course I did," he said calmly without directing his gaze away from the young woman outside. She was stroking Peter's back soothingly while he was leaning forward with his elbows in his knees, shaking his head and talking about whatever inane things they were talking about.

"Then what did I say?" Esme challenged.

Edward smirked but remained staring out through the window. "Do you really want to play this game with me, Aunt Esme?"

He heard the sigh that indicated that Esme was giving in and his smirk grew in size. He loved the feeling when he won the arguments he often found himself in with his aunt or father.

"No, I don't, Edward, but I would appreciate the respect of having you look at me while we talk."

He saw Isabella rise from the bench and then gesture for Peter that they should walk together. Edward followed them with his eyes until he couldn't see them from his position anymore, then he slowly turned toward the room and the woman currently looking at him impatiently while waiting for his reply.

"If it's so important to you." He walked away from the window and sat down in the comfy couch that was positioned against one of the walls in the spacious and luxurious office.

Esme opened her mouth to continue, but before she could say anything she was interrupted by the office door opening and Carlisle Cullen stepped inside.

When he met his wife's gaze, it was obvious he had not expected to find her in there with Edward. His expression quickly changed from the open and soft one he'd worn to a hard and sneering stare when it was directed towards his nephew.

Edward and Carlisle didn't have a good relationship and it had only gone for the worse when Edward started to participate in the program as a manipulator on Esme's request.

Carlisle hated that his wife and nephew used his school for such an immoral purpose, and he'd had countless fights with Esme about it. She had promised that there would be no more cases after last year, but when Renée Swan had written and asked for help with her daughter, Esme couldn't refuse her best friend from high school.

Carlisle had made an ultimatum after that. Isabella would be the very last case or he would close the school. He didn't want his program to be completely dragged in the mud if the truth of what his wife was doing ever came out.

When Esme was about to talk to her husband, he put his hand up in the air and stopped her.

"I don't want to hear it, my love. What's going on here is between you and Edward. I ask you to not involve me. I was hoping to have a chat with you, but as I can see that I've interrupted something, we'll take that conversation some other time."

Edward chuckled from his place and Carlisle turned his eyes toward him. "Is something funny, Edward?"

He shrugged with a very amused smile on his face. "Just that you're always so formal when you talk, even to your own wife. It amuses me."

Carlisle didn't honor Edward enough to reply. He only turned on his heel and left the office without another word.

Esme sighed deeply and then glared at Edward. "Why do you always have to do that?"

He pretended as if he didn't know what she was talking about. "Do what?"

"Aggravate him. Don't you want to at least try to build a relationship with him?"

"Not really. We have never made it a secret that we don't like each other, so why should I pretend otherwise?"

Esme didn't want anything more than to point out how good of friends the two men were when Edward was younger. Carlisle had adored Edward when he was born, but as the younger man grew and became more like he was in the present day, Carlisle started to pull away.

However, Esme remained silent and fetched Isabella's file from her desk so that they could continue their meeting.

**¤/PPP\\\¤**

"Peter, I really wish there was some way for me to help you, but I don't know how," I said as we walked around on the school grounds. Peter's problem had not been what I expected at all.

I had not been mistaken that first day when Lauren, Peter's volunteer, appeared to dislike him at first sight. Apparently, Peter used to date Lauren's cousin, but he had found out that she was cheating on him. When he broke up with her, she had told everyone that would listen that Peter had mistreated her as revenge.

Her family, who had liked Peter a lot and treated him like one of them, stopped talking to him and ignored him completely after that.

Peter lost his best friend and his job, since he was working for his ex-girlfriend's father.

Still wanting to know if it had been his fault that his girlfriend cheated on him, Peter applied for The PPP. When he saw Lauren that first day, he had wanted to be swallowed by the ground. It was just typical that they would be paired up.

"It's fine," he said. "It feels good to have someone other than me know the truth."

I nodded and stopped walking. I placed my hand on Peter's arm to stop him as well. "Peter, I want you to see me as a friend. You can come to me if you need to talk."

"Thank you, Bella. That means a lot to me."

While we stood there, I felt the urge to tell him my story. Strangely enough, I trusted Peter even though I didn't know him.

"I didn't apply for this program," I confessed, and Peter looked at me questioningly. "My mother forged my application and sent me here."

Peter frowned. "Why would she do that?"

"She has this strange view of the world. She thinks that everyone in her proximity has to be perfect. I wasn't in her eyes, and so she sent me here."

"Didn't she know that this program isn't about becoming perfect?"

I smiled at him. "I guess she was fooled by the name."

"But why haven't you told anyone? If Mr. or Mrs. Cullen knew the truth, I'm sure they could overlook the legal aspects of the contract and let you go home."

"If I'd told them in the beginning, they could have sued my family for wasting their resources and time, and now I've let it go on for too long."

"If your mother is as horrible as I imagine her, why do you care?" Peter asked. We had started to walk again, but we were on our way back inside the school.

"It's not my mother I think about. I don't want to put that on my father. It could ruin his reputation if it was revealed that his wife had committed a crime like that. His career is one of his last joys in life. Now that he knows what kind of woman Mother is, I'm pretty sure he'll only give her one more chance before he files for a divorce. Their marriage will never be the same, and it pains him since he still loves her very deeply."

"Your father means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

I smiled toward Peter. "He means the world to me. He's my Papa." I knew Peter wouldn't know how much the nickname actually meant, but I couldn't explain it in any other way.

Fortunately, I didn't have to. Peter seemed to understand it to an extent.

We reached the second floor where Peter had his room. He turned to me and the smile he had on his face now was a complete opposite of the expression he'd worn before. "I'm really glad you sat on that bench today, Bella," he said.

"I am, too. You are the first that I've told about how I got here."

"Then I feel honored. See you around." He made a small salute with two fingers and then walked toward his room.

I turned around to continue to the third floor, but I stopped short when I almost collided with someone's chest. I looked up to see Edward standing there with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Whoa, Edward, I didn't see you."

"Obviously," he replied shortly.

I frowned at his tone. "Is everything okay?"

He looked me straight in the eyes when he answered me. "No, everything's not okay."

My stomach clenched with worry. What could possibly bother Edward enough to make him act like this? His posture was tense, and his green eyes were rock hard. "What's the matter?"

Edward lifted his head and glared at a spot over my head. "I believe that Peter guy likes you a bit too much."

* * *

**A/N: **Oh my, is Edward jealous? But is it real or just an act? :-O…:-P

I have some news that I need to share with you…you see, for a while now, I've had a rollercoaster experience at my work and it has started to take a toll on my mind. It's affecting my writing a lot and I experience more writer's block than ever before.

Add to that the fact that my relationship with one of my roommates is slowly going downhill.

I am mentally exhausted and I'm afraid that I won't be able to continue with weekly updates anymore. It's stressing me out and I don't want my writing to do that because it has always been my sanctuary.

I will by no means abandon this story! Those of you that know me are aware that I would NEVER do that! But updates will come slower and I really hope you will stick with this story through this slightly rough time in my life.

Please, respect this and even though I am flattered that you don't want this story to end, don't send me reviews that read "Please update ASAP!" because it makes me stressed as well. I feel like I'm letting you down every time I don't meet the deadline.

I really love you guys, but I need to slow down, for my own sake as well as for this story. If I continue to force it, it will become a really crappy story in the end.

Ok, thank you so much for reading!


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